Mistakes and Memories
by x illusion
Summary: Chase thought he would spend a lowkey night at home after a hard day of work, but what he got was a blast from the past and so much more... [RomanceHumorDrama] Now Complete after sooooo long! Please R&R!
1. An Unexpected Visit

Hey kids, this is my first fanfiction, so I hope it's not too horrible! Please R&R, it would be greatly, greatly appreciated! In my opinion, it gets much, much better in later chapters... it also gets longer (I've already written 13 chapters), so more reviewsfaster updates! This story is also known as "Refreshing Your Memory" on the offical House, MD forums, but I wanted a larger audience, so I decided to post it here. Well... enough of my rambling, enjoy the story!

Casie

Chapter 1- An Unexpected Visit

Chase sighed as he pressed the button for the elevator. The team had just finished on a case, and he was looking foward to a nice weekend off. Lately he had been working overtime, but he felt he needed a break, everything was feeling like a burden. The elevator arrived, just in time, too, the 'ding' saved him from practically falling asleep where he stood. He got in the empty elevator. He was relieved, he wasn't in the mood to make friendly conversation with anyone, not even the nurses.

The drive home was long, everything felt like it was going in slow motion. The sight of his building was relieving. Home meant sleep, and he could really use that right now.

"Only a little longer," he said quietly to himself as he turned the corner in the hall. His apartment was only a few steps away. However, it was different now. Instead of seeing a white door, he saw a woman, sitting on a suitcase in front of it. It looked like she had been there a while, she had fallen asleep. She reminded Chase slightly of House, her neck was tilted back, and she was listening to an ipod. Her black hair was a bit messy, like she hadn't washed it in a while. She was pretty, and about Chase's age, maybe a bit younger. He didn't know what to think of it, but he approached her.

"Excuse me," he said as he tapped her lightly on the shoulder. She stirred, but didn't wake up. Chase took the headphones out of her ears. "Excuse me, miss?" he tried to wake her again. This time, her eyes fluttered, and she woke up. She looked around, and her eyes met Chase's. They were a creamy caramel color, soft and comforting, there was something familiar about them. Chase and the girl just stared at each other for a moment, not sure what to do, then all of a sudden, the girl smiled widely, and threw her arms around the man leaning over her.

"Robert!" The girl stood straight up, forcing him to do the same. He was in utter shock.

"I can't believe it! I was wondering when you would get here. I was scared this was the wrong address," The girl rambled on in excitement, her voice had a very slight southern accent.

"Wh-?" Chase tried to get a word in, but was cut of by another stream of incoherent thoughts.

The girls hands went straight to his hair, and she let her fingers run through it. "You let your hair grow out! It looks so amazing!" She touched his cheek, it was rough, he hadn't had the time to shave it in the past couple of days, it was making him mad, everyone was saying he was trying to hard to be like House. "Are you trying to grow a beard, personally, I think it would make you look too old. Well, aren't you going to say anything?"

There was a pause while Chase tried to collect his thoughts. The girl was smiling, waiting for an answer, her hands were still on his face. After a couple of seconds he took her by the wrists and put her hands by her sides. "Well I would if you would give me the chance."

The girl laughed, and her hand flew over her mouth. "Oh yeah, sorry. Well, you know me, I never shut up if I can help it!"

Chase was again flabbergasted. "What? Do I know you?" The girl laughed, but stopped when she saw that Chase obviously didn't find anything funny.

"Robert. Don't tell me you forgot who I am." She was very surprised at the thought.

"I- I.." Chase was at a loss for words.


	2. Blast From the Past

Okay kids, chapter 2, hope y'all enjoy! You know the drill... R&R and I'll love you forever!

gkpinkgrl: dude, you putting me on story alert pretty much makes my life! thank you!

Chapter 2- Blast From the Past

There was another moment of awkward silence.

"You did, didn't you! Robert, you've gone and hurt my feelings..." The girl put on a pouty puppy dog look.

Again confused, Chase had nothing to say. The girl tried to jog his memory, "About 3 years ago, North Carolina... come on Chase-Face, you've got to remember me!"

"Chase-Face?" He seemed a bit perplexed by the pet name, but suddenly remembered a moment from his past, "The only per..." He cut himself off, this time, and after a split-second, his eyes widened and he was more shocked than ever. "Chloe!"

The girl smiled once again and let out a bit of a squeal. "The one and only!" She went to hug him again, and Chase actually hugged her back. She let out a sigh of relief. "Finally!"

Chase let go and got a better look at her, he was a bit more awake now, the whole situation was very stimulating. "What are you doing here?"

Chloe's eyes finally left Chase's, and went straight to the suitcase behind her. "I need you..." she seemed to be searching for the right words "...to return a favor."

Chase was almost ready to laugh at what she said, but he reduced the feeling to a very small half-smile. "What favor would that be?"

Chloe lowered her voice a little, as if she was embarrassed to speak her next thought. "I need a place to stay." Before Chase had a chance to even process those words, another burst flew from Chloe's mouth. "It won't be for long, I promise! At least, not as long as you were, I mean, I just need to get settled and find a job and an apartment, It shouldn't be more than a month, I swear!"

"Um, maybe we should go inside," Chase said, as he was fishing in his pocket for his keys. He had just realized that they had been standing outside of his front door for ages.

Chloe laughed. "Oh yeah, definitely." Chase unlocked and opened the door to a surprisingly large apartment. Chloe's jaw dropped when she saw the size of it.

Chase set his keys on a table next to the door. "Aren't you going to come in?"

Chloe was still standing in the doorway, her mouth was a bit open as she stared at the leather furniture, the hardwood floors,

and the granite countertops, but Chase's remark sort of jogged her back to reality. "Um, yeah." She picked up her suitcase, stuffed her iPod into her pocket and slowly treaded into his home. "Wow."

Chase smiled and closed the door. "Oh, it seems a bit overbearing, I know, but once you get used to it, it's pretty comfortable. At least, I like it."

Chloe was simply amazed at the place, even more so once she entered and got a full view of it. "I love it! Are you sure you'll be able to make room for me?" She joked.

Chase joked right back, "Are you sure that I'm even allowing you to stay here?"

Chloe's smile was immediately erased from her face. "Oh," she seemed a bit depressed at the thought.

Chase burst out in laughter (for the first time in a long time, actually). "Am I not allowed to joke like you?"

Chloe bit her lip in embarrassment. "Um..." The two laughed together. "So, does that mean I can stay with you?"

Chase shrugged nonchalantly. "Sure, I have more than enough room, and you'll have your own bedroom and bathroom and everything."

Chloe grinned and threw her arms around Chase yet again. "Thank you so much! It'll just like North Carolina, only... more space!" They hugged for a little while longer, and then realized what they were doing, and stopped suddenly.


	3. The First Night

Chapter 3- The First Night

Chase motioned for them to move to the couch. "So, um, what have you been doing?"

If Chloe was half an inch taller, she could've reached the floor when she sat down, so she took off her silver flip flops and crossed her legs onto the couch. "Just a bunch of odd jobs, you know, waiting tables, filing papers, answering phones... that sort of thing." She seemed a bit hesitant to say.

"For three years? What happened to your plans to go back to college?" Chase took off his jacket and set it on the coffee table.

"Oh, you know me, I've never liked school." She couldn't really look at Chase when she said it, so she occupied herself with a ball of lint on her shoulder.

Chase felt he should change the subject. "What brings you to Jersey, then?"

"Actually, I was in New York City, looking for a job, and it's very expensive up there, did you know? Anyway, I wasn't having much luck, so I found your address in my little black book, and here I am." She ended with her hands in a big 'tada' fashion.

"You want to find a job? Here? In Princeton?" Chase was very shocked at the thought. "There's not really that much here."

"I don't need that much, you know that." The two were starting to get into an argument.

"Yeah, but you can't expect to just come here and have everything given to you."

"What, like you did when you ran away? I found you lost, in Charlotte, with a suitcase and some stupid guide book! I told you you could come to my apartment and stay, for free, I might add. All because I felt sorry for you and your "my daddy never hugged me" attitude!"

"Could we not talk about my father please?" They were yelling each other, now, but Chase quieted down, he didn't want any of the other residents to come complaining to him. "Listen, I don't want to argue with you, I didn't mean what I said, I'm just tired, okay?"

Chloe's expression immediately softened at the mention of Chase's father. There was a pause, and finally Chloe said, "I'm sorry too. I think we're both tired. Why don't you just show me to my room... if you're still okay with me staying here?"

Chase had his face in his hands. He put his hands on his knees to help himself stand up, and started walking towards a hallway leading to about 4 rooms. "It's this way."

Chloe grabbed her suitcase, put her shoes back on, and followed Chase into a spare bedroom. When they got there, she was surprised at the simplicity of the furnishings.

"This is the only other bed in the house," Chase explained when she entered. "The room seemed kind of empty without it, so I just bought a mattress and a metal bed frame. The sheets are a bit old, but they're comfortable, I promise."

"It's nice." Chloe was setting her suitcase by a small dresser along the far wall. "I like it."

"Um, the bathroom is across the hall, my room is the last room at the end of the hall, and there's an office to the left of the bathroom." Chase was pointing in all directions as he was explaining the layout of his house. "You know where the kitchen and living room are." He sighed. "And, I think that's about it."

Chloe nodded every so often during Chase's demonstration, but she wasn't really listening. She must've been more tired than she thought. "Thank you, Robert, this means so much."

"Don't worry about it," said Chase, as he ducked out of the room and left Chloe to get ready for bed.

Chloe made sure Chase was all the way in his bedroom before she made another move. She turned down the bed, and made her way to the kitchen. She hadn't eaten in quite a while, and wondered if Chase had eaten, too. She opened up the fridge and found a cup of yogurt. After searching in 3 different drawers, she found a spoon and inhaled the food. She threw away the cup, put the spoon in the sink, and went back to her room. She changed and moved to the bathroom to wash up. Crawling into bed, she hoped that Chase wasn't as upset as he seemed. Then she remembered something. She smiled as she closed her eyes, and thought of her plans for the next morning.

When Chase got to his room, he was about ready to pass out. He didn't care that he didn't have dinner, he just wanted sleep. He changed into a pair of pajama pants and didn't even bother to wash up. He was just glad to finally be in bed. However, falling asleep was a bit more difficult than he thought it would be. He kept thinking about Chloe, and wondering if he was insane for letting her stay with him. He also wondered if it really would be like North Carolina as Chloe said. The thoughts of the new arrangement filled his head, as he eventually drifted into dreamland.


	4. Southern Hospitality

Okay, this part takes place in the past back when the 2 first met. thanks for the reviews!

Casie

Chapter 4- Southern Hospitality

"This damn guidebook doesn't make any sense!" Chase thought to himself. He had his fingers in between pages, holding about

four different spots in the book. He was becoming very frustrated, sitting on a bench in the middle of the city. He thought he looked like a fool, a lone tourist. He used to make fun of tourists in his native Australia, but he couldn't even think of home at a time like this. "I just need to find a hotel..." His voice trailed off, he didn't have much money, and all of the places in his guidebook were either expensive or family-oriented, neither of which he was very interested in.

Meanwhile, a girl had been watching Chase for a few minutes, from a lamp post on the street corner. She thought he was kind of cute, the way he was flipping back and forth in his guidebook. She decided to approach, and walked up right behind him, and started to read over his shoulder.

Chase suddenly smelled the scent of lavender around him, it was slightly comforting, and he wondered where it came from.

"Are you lost?" The girl quipped.

Chase snapped his head around, and found himself face to face with a pretty black haired girl. He was especially attracted to her brown eyes.

"I'm Chloe" The girl smiled very sweetly at her new acquaintance

"Robert. Robert Chase." He finally answered. He was a bit shocked at her presence.

"Well, Robert Chase, would you like to join me for lunch? I know this really great place about a block from here. I could show you around or something if you want, you know, afterwards."

Chase was hesitant, and unable to respond to her.

"Well, what I mean is, you don't really look like you're from here, and you seem to be alone, I just wanted to help you out, you know?" The girl thought she had offended Chase, and tried quickly to redeem herself.

"Sure, that would be great." He finally gave in to his helplessness.

"Awesome! Follow me." Chloe seemed very pleased with herself as she led the way. "The place is called Rachael's Kitchen, it's really great, I've been going for years."

"How old are you?" Chase seemed to be distracted by her appearance.

Chloe stopped in her tracks and turned around to face him. "If I told you 19, would you believe me?"

Chase looked very confused by her response.

Chloe laughed. "I'm kidding! I'm 23, I swear. I even have documentation to prove it." She held up her purse to indicate.

"Oh, sorry" Chase was busy reprimanding himself for asking such a stupid question.

"Don't worry, I get that a lot. I used to get kids meal menus until I was 15. Didn't really bother me, I always got a really cheap meal!" She was very proud of herself. Most likely for conning all the restaurants she'd ever been to.

The two walked in silence for a moment, and unsurprisingly, Chloe broke the silence. "We're here!"

The two were seated at a table by a window. The view was that of a beautiful garden.

"Anna!" Chloe called over her waitress friend.

"Hey sweetheart! Ooh, who's your friend?" She had a strong southern accent, and half-whispered the second part of her greeting.

"Shh! He's not from here, I'm just... helping him get around." Chloe was blushing just the slightest bit. She hoped her guest would think it was the southern heat.

"Mmhmm. Well, what can I get you?" Anna didn't really believe her friend, but she was still on the clock, and was ready to get back to work.

"Um, just some water for now. Oh, well just for me at least. Robert?"

Robert had been watching the two friends with a bit of interest, and of course wasn't surprised when the waitress commented on his looks. However, he was a bit more interested in Chloe, and sort of snapped back to reality when she asked him what he wanted to drink. "Uh, I'll have the same."

"Okay, I'll be back in a little bit to check on you two." Then she looked at Chloe. "Especially you" she said again in her half-whisper, before escaping to another table in need of service.

Chloe was obviously embarrassed by her friend. "Sorry about that. Anna can be very... frank."

"It's okay, really" said Chase, with a bit of a smile. "It's kind of funny."

Chloe smiled too. There was a bit of silence before she spoke again. "So, where are you from? I love your accent!"

"Um, Australia." He was just relieved she didn't ask if he was English. He was also very flattered that she liked it so much.

"So, what brings you to the lovely city of Charlotte? Business or pleasure?" Chloe was trying to make polite conversation.

Chase looked out the window before answering. "Necessity."


	5. Fish, Friends, and Confessions

Okay kids, here's more about the past. I'm glad y'all like the story so much! Keep reviewing, it compels me to update quicker- wink.

PS: this also isn't my best work, but the stuff that was in it needed to be said, and I couldn't think of any other way to get it in there. I hope y'all aren't too disappointed.

-Casie

**Chapter 5- Fish, Friends, and Confessions**

Chloe looked a bit confused. "What do you mean?"

Chase suddenly looked at his new friend. He hadn't told anyone why he had left or where he was going. "Um..." He sighed. Everything had been bottled up for so long. "I ran away."

"You ran away from Australia, to Charlotte? What could possibly be here that's so much better?" Chloe was now fully confused.

"It's what isn't here that's important." Chase could see that he was only complicating things further for Chloe. Inwardly he had decided something: he couldn't keep his past a secret forever, and Chloe was as good a person as any to tell. "I was a doctor back home, but I couldn't go anywhere without my father, who's also a doctor, breathing down my back. Everywhere I went, people were either raving about my father or saying that I'm probably not that good, and I'm riding on my father's success. I couldn't stand it anymore."

Before Chloe had a chance to respond, Anna had returned with two glasses of ice water. She set them down on the table and pulled out a pen and a pad of paper. "What'll y'all have?"

"Oh, yeah." Chloe had forgotten to look at the menu, and of course, so had Chase. "Robert?"

He was naturally unfamiliar with the menu, and Chloe had distracted him from studying it. "I'll... just let you order for me."

"Okay then." Chloe turned to Anna. "What's today, Thursday?" Anna nodded. "Do you like, fish Robert?" He nodded as well. "Well then we've got to have the fried flounder."

Anna wrote down the order and was off again.

"I hope that's okay." Chloe said after Anna left. "It's their special today. It's really great, I promise."

"Yeah, it's fine. It sounds good." Chase smiled.

"Cool." Chloe and Chase were silent for a moment. That seemed to happen a lot. Chloe was the one to break the silence, once again. "I was going to be a doctor."

She had yet again managed to surprise Chase. "Really?"

"Yeah, I have a degree in pre-med, but I never actually went through with medical school," she confessed.

"Why not?" Chase found Chloe quite intriguing.

"Money, nerves, all kinds of things." There was silence again. A few moments later, she spoke again. "My mom died." Chloe had no idea why she was telling Chase these things. Chloe seemed to have the same effect on Chase.

"Hope y'all are hungry!" Anna had arrived with two steaming plates of food.

Chloe put on a smile. "Of course we are. These look great, Banana" She and Anna (Banana) laughed, and Anna was suddenly called to another table.

"Call if y'all need anything. I'll be around!" Anna rushed off.

"Banana?" Chase raised an eyebrow at Chloe's most recent remark.

"Oh yeah, it's just a nickname. I make up one for all my friends. Give me... a week, you'll be next." Chloe laughed again.

"I thought you were just helping me around for today?" Chase had noticed Chloe's slip.

"Well, you've run away, you're in an unfamiliar place, you can't stay in a hotel forever. You trust me enough to let me order food for you, maybe you'll trust me enough to let me invite you to stay with me." Chloe put a bite of food in her mouth to keep herself from saying any more, and hoped that she hadn't already said too much.

"Alright then. I guess we live together now." Chase laughed.

"I guess we do." Chloe was relieved Chase didn't think she was being too forward. (In reality, Chase was glad he wouldn't have to stay in a hotel full of tourists. He hated them back in Australia.) "Eat, it's really good." Chloe and Chase finally stopped talking long enough to eat their lunch. Chloe was right. Chase loved his meal.


	6. Fun and Food

Okay kids, we're back to the present now, and Chloe and Chase are going to have a little fun... no not _that_ kind of fun! You'll see. Hope you enjoy!

-Casie

PS: Thanks for the reviews guys, keep 'em comin!

Chapter 6- Fun and Food

"Robert, you'd better have a decent amount of clothes on." Chloe whispered to herself as she attempted to quietly open the door to Chase's bedroom. It was late in the morning, almost noon, and Chloe was getting sick of waitng for Chase to wake up. "CREEEEEEEEEAAAAK!" The door hinges badly needed oil, and Chloe winced as the door cried. She paused, and there was no response from Chase. She tiptoed over to his bed, tripping over a pair of shoes on the way there. She stopped dead in her tracks once again, praying that Chase didn't wake up, but there was only silence. When she finally made it to his bed in the center of the room, she found him, buried under a pile of fluffy bedsheets, still in a deep sleep. "3 years and you still sleep like a rock." She laughed, and then pulled a small jar out of her jacket pocket. "Rise and shine Sleeping Beauty!" Chloe sang as she screwed off the jar's little yellow lid. She brought the jar to her nose and sampled the aroma. After a split second, she held the jar as far away from herself as possible. "This is gonna do it, I know it." The smile on her face was bursting as she anticipated the reaction Chase would soon have. After a bit of searching, Chloe found Chase's nose, and held the jar up to it. "Come on! This smell had better wake you up before it makes me pass out."

Chloe had one hand holding the jar, now in Chase's face, and the other was pinching her nose down.

Sniff, sniff.

Chloe's eyes twinkled.

"What is that?" Chase waved his hands in front of his face in an attempt to escape the scent. His eyes opened and Chloe was standing over him with a jar full of brown goo. "Wh- what the hell are you doing?" He sat straight up in bed, while Chloe sat down and started giggling. She was obviously delighted by Chase's reaction.

"I got you a present when I was in New York." She held up the small jar so Chase could read the yellow and red label.

"Vegemite. Vegemite!" Chase was simply blown away. "Where did you get this?"

"They had it in a shop in New York City. I picked it up before I headed down here." Chloe was perched on the edge of the bed, watching Chase as he examined his new gift.

Chase narrowed his eyes at the jar and then looked at Chloe. "Race you to the kitchen!" He grabbed the jar out of Chloe's hands and sprinted out of bed faster than a dingo in pursuit of his next meal.

Chloe soon followed, and found Chase searching through his cupboards. "I don't know how you can stand that stuff. It smells like old fermented rotten eggs."

"It's got yeast in it, that's why it smells fermented." Chase finally retrieved a box of crackers and made his way to the table, where Chloe was already sitting. He sat down, and started to eat. He was eating the crackers straight out of the box, no plates involved. He used a small butter knife to spread the Vegemite on them and ate them like they were going out of style. "I haven't had Vegemite in 3 years." He finally spoke after practically inhaling about 5 crackers.

Chloe watched him, both disgusted and entertained. "I can tell." Chase offered her a cracker, but she backed away from it as if it were a deadly poison. "No, that's okay, I got it just for you."

Chase smiled and finally took a break from stuffing his face. "So, what have you been up to? It's been 3 years, hasn't it?"

"Oh, you know, just been looking for a better job, same old stuff. Spent about 2 weeks in New York and realized that I couldn't afford it, then I came here... but what have you been doing?"

"Working, a lot. Still doing the doctor thing, thankfully." Chase's attention, however, had gone back to the box of crackers which, to his dismay, was now empty. He capped up the Vegemite and returned to the conversation.

"Hey, it's a lot better than North Carolina, you didn't even have a job in the whole 2 months you were there," Chloe joked.

"Yeah, but if it weren't for my dad, I probably wouldn't even have this job." Chase seemed a bit embarrassed by admitting this.

"Hey, it's cool, he was trying to help. Better late than never, right?" Chloe tried to brighten the situation, but Chase was silent. "Anyway, what are we going to do today? I've never been to Princeton before."

"Um, I don't know, what time is it?" Chase looked around for a clock.

Chloe looked at her wristwatch, and then held it up for Chase to see. "11:53. I got bored waiting for you, so I woke you up. I already got up and spent an hour at the gym downstairs, showered, and ate breakfast. By the way, we need to grocery shopping, The only thing you have to eat is yogurt."

Chase grabbed Chloe's wrist and checked the time for himself. "What! I can't believe I slept this late! I haven't done that in forever." He was actually quite pleased with himself. Then he examined the watch more closely "Hey, I got you that watch."

"Yeah, before you left. What, did you think I would let it collect dust in some jewelry box? I wear it every day." Chloe smiled at Chase. Chase smiled back.

"Well, I guess I'll take you around town." Chase snapped back to reality. "There are some really great shops there, I think you'll like them... and we can go to the grocery store on the way home." He headed back to his room and got ready for the day.

It was Saturday, so the town was full of students. The two spent the day walking around, ducking in and out of little shops. They stopped at a small restaurant to have lunch, which Chloe really enjoyed, because there was live music.

After a visit to the grocery store, the two returned to the apartment, with arms full of brown paper bags.

"I don't remember the last time I bought this many groceries." Chase said, opening the door to the apartment.

"Well, now you're feeding two people, and besides, you need to not go out to eat so much, it's like a financial death wish." Chloe found her way to the kitchen counter, and began to unload the groceries.

Chase closed the door with his leg, and took Chloe's advice into consideration. "Are you going to cook then?"

"Of course I am!" Chloe replied, searching for a place to put a can of spaghetti sauce.

Chase looked up suddenly from the bag of groceries he had just set down. "You cook now?"

"Oh yeah, I got cable after you left, and I became obsessed with the cooking channel. I love it so much. Do you have cable?" Chloe was starting to reorganize Chase's refrigerator. She was certainly making herself at home in record time.

"Yeah." Chase was watching Chloe, she was rearranging condiments in the refrigerator door, ketchup in one hand, soy sauce in the other, carefully calculating where each one should go. "Does what you're going to cook depend on some voodoo arrangement of food in the refrigerator?"

Chloe finally realized what she was doing. "Oh, sorry. I'm just... making room for all the groceries." She was blushing a bit, but she buried her head in the fridge and started to shuffle things around again.

"What are you going to cook?" Chase was putting away a brand spanking new box of crackers, for his Vegemite, of course.

Chloe returned to the bags of groceries, and pulled out a small white package. "Swordfish. I'm getting fancy tonight."

Chase laughed, but he was a bit hesitant to trust Chloe in the kitchen. "Okay then. Swordfish."


	7. To Begin Again, and Again

Okay, so I've learned about this fun thing where you personally reply to all reviews... therefore I shall do it now:

draconiandevil5: 'air of mystery'... nice choice of words, and thank you! i was hoping that would draw people in

ladypunz: vegemite is "a salty vegetable and yeast paste used as a spread". it's an australian thing. i've never had it though, as i am an american.

dybdahl: thanks for the chloe compliments! i got sick of chase being all blah in the tv show, so i decided to make him happy w/ chloe. also, plot twists are always lots of fun, don't you think?

allison chase: haha, i like your name. anyway... house will be popping up soon, i promise.

rabid.squirrels.from.hell: i'm glad you like it! don't worry, there's plenty more chapters to come!

andrea kamille: don't worry... chapters thru 15 are all done, i'm just waiting for signs that people are reading before i post more chapters (cou-reviews-gh)

gkpinkgrl: oh yes, chase makes my world go 'round. and like i said, you putting me on story alert makes my life!

okay, keep the reviews coming, and i'll keep the story moving along!

Chapter 7- To Begin Again, and Again

Chase was very surprised by Chloe's cooking skills. The swordfish was delicious, as was the bacon and cheese omelette that she made for breakfast the next morning. Sunday was pretty much uneventful, it rained all day, and the two spent the day chatting and catching up. Chloe also did a bit of laundry... okay a lot of laundry. Half of her suitcase was full of dirty clothes when she moved in, and now all of her clothes and belongings were tucked away in a small dresser or in a cabinet in the bathroom. The two were tired by the end of the day, so Chase ordered a pizza, giving Chloe a break from the kitchen. After dinner, they collapsed on the couch together and watched TV in silence. Chloe, of course, who can't go without talking for more than 10 minutes, spoke up during a commercial.

"Are we picking up where we left off, or are we starting over?"

Chase was a bit distracted by the TV. "What?"

"Are we picking up where we left off, or are we starting over?" Chloe was becoming a bit impatient.

"Um, I don't know... what do you think?" He was avoiding the question, just like House.

"I think you know what I think, and that you should answer the question now." Naturally, she wouldn't let him just avoid it.

"Uh, well, relationship wise?" He was dragging out his answer.

"No, medically. I wanted to know if I could have one of your kidneys, mine's not doing so hot. You're still O negative right?" Chase was sincerely aggravating her. The sarcasm was heavy, and if looks could kill, Chase would be rushed to PPTH at the drop of a hat. He kind of wished he was there right now.

"What's wrong with your kidney?" Chase was a bit thrown off by her House-like tone.

"Sarcasm! Just answer the question!" Chloe was mad, and Chase was skating on thin ice.

"Well... in North Carolina, we were practically sleeping in the same bed." Chase thought he'd finally given a reasonable answer, but Chloe still glared at him, lips pursed. "And... we obviously aren't doing that now... but, it seems we are on good terms... what do you want to do?"

"I've been here for 3 days, and it's like we've never been apart." She spoke very matter-of-factly. "When you left Charlotte, I buried myself in work, I didn't leave any time for men in my life." Her tone suddenly changed. It was softer, more vulnerable. "Now I'm here, and... I may... still have feelings for you."

"I see." Chase didn't know how to react. His feelings for Chloe had slightly resurfaced, but it had been 3 years. They were together 3 months. She had been in New Jersey for 3 days. He sighed after a moment of thought. "I might too."

"We don't have to sleep in the same bed or anything. We can just... be together, like this. We can..." She couldn't exactly find the words to say. She was just happy that Chase felt the same way.

"I know what you mean." He was happy too, and for the first time in 3 years, they kissed. "But the bed was my favorite part..." Chase's tone had a joke-sadness about it.

Chloe laughed, then sighed. "Chase-Face." She leaned on his shoulder, and went to sleep.

The next morning Chloe woke up by herself, on the couch in the living room. She searched for Chase for a while, and finally found a note on the refrigerator. "Didn't want to wake you, I usually get to work early in the morning. I'll be home around 6 or 7. Chase-Face." She laughed at the ending, just seeing his nickname written down was funny to her. "Work," she said to herself. She realized she needed a job, Chase wasn't home, and she had nothing better to do. She had some cereal and took a shower. She skipped her run, and picked up a newspaper instead. It was job hunting time. She grabbed a few résumés out of her suitcase, and was off at 9:00 am.

After about 4 failed attempts, Chloe was almost ready to give up. The first job she tried for was already taken. At the second one, the place smelled like fish- not attractive. At the third, the person conducting the interview was very condescending to Chloe. She wouldn't have taken the job even if it was offered to her. Still, she just had to give the day one more try. It was only 11, and there was one more red circle on her newspaper. "Secretary needed. Must be experienced, organized, fast worker, able to multi-task and relate well to others. See Dean of Medicine at PPTH Clinic." Chloe thought to herself. "Perfect. This, I can do."

---

"You seem more than qualified to take on this job, Ms..." Cuddy was impressed with Chloe's résumé.

"Keene. Chloe Keene." Finally, a normal interview, and some positive feedback. Chloe was very relieved.

"And you've taken pre-med at UNC. That will certainly help with the work you'll be doing here." Cuddy took notice of Chloe's advanced education, she had graduated number 2 in her class. "You never went to graduate school?"

"Unexpected family events prevented that," Chloe admitted sadly.

"I see. Well, you are perfect for the job. You can start now if you like, or it can wait until tomorrow morning." Cuddy was eager to put the girl to work. She was another cog to keep her precious hospital running smoothly.

"Wow! That sounds amazing! I'll start now, then." Chloe jumped up. She was ecstatic, and very glad she had taken that extra chance today. "The sooner, the better. I look forward to working for you Dr. Cuddy."

"You won't be working for me." Cuddy stood up to escort Chloe out. She opened the door. "You'll be working for Dr. House, in diagnostics. I'll show you to his office."

"Oh, okay then." Chloe was a bit taken back and also strangely excited, but she followed Cuddy out of the room anyway.


	8. New Job, Old Friends

Thank you so much for the lovely reviews! I'm glad you all are enjoying my story so much.

Jack-Rules: Ah, you are worried about House, but you are forgetting someone...

KatKnits00: Would you expect anything less of him?

Allison Chase: Chase's expression is quite amusing... lol. (I'm weird when it comes to ships, I'm House/Cuddy for the sake of Cuddy, House/Stacy for the sake of House, House/Cameron for the sake of Cameron, and Cameron/Chase for the sake of Chase. It depends on which character I feel like making happy that day.)

And now ladies and gentlemen, on with the show!

**Chapter 8- New Job, Old Friends **

"Dr... House?" Chloe was a bit confused by the name.

"Yes. Gregory House is the head of diagnostics at the hospital." Cuddy was skillfully weaving through the crowd in the hospital. Nurses, interns, doctors, and patients; all were clamoring around, but none of that phased Cuddy one bit.

Chloe, however had been hit in the shoulder, stepped on, and almost knocked over by a nurse running to an exam room. "Is the hospital always this busy?"

"No, today we're holding a blood drive, so there are a lot more people here than usual." Cuddy seemed a bit exasperated, but there were people crowding her precious hospital, it was hectic, and Cuddy hates it when she's not in total control.

Chloe had noticed this. She had to be perfect, she needed learn the inner workings of the hospital, she needed to be a step ahead. Everything needed to fall into place.

Cuddy placed her hand on the door to House's office. "Wait here." She didn't want House to scare Chloe away with one of his signature snarks. She entered the office, House was throwing his ball in the air and didn't acknowledge Cuddy's entrance. "House, I've brought someone here to help you."

House put down the ball and leaned back in his chair, he glimpsed past Cuddy and saw Chloe, nervously watching the goings on in the hospital. "Is it time already for my twelve o'clock hooker?"

Cuddy rolled her eyes, she expected this of House, and was glad Chloe wasn't there to hear his remark. She turned around and signaled for Chloe to enter the room. "This is Chloe Keene, she's going to be your new secretary."

House looked at Cuddy, then to Chloe, then back to Cuddy again. "Hmm, I don't remember asking for sexretary, or is it just you that gets those?" Both Cuddy's and Chloe's jaws dropped, Cuddy was embarrassed, and Chloe was clearly insulted, and House got just the reaction he was looking for out of both the girls.

"Please ignore Dr. House's rude remarks, he hasn't had a Vicodin in almost 3 minutes." Cuddy was killing two birds with one shot- insulting House, and making amends with a very cross Chloe.

"Thanks for the reminder." House sat up and reached in his pocket and pulled out the little orange bottle. Two seconds and two Vicodin later, he was ready for Cuddy's next attack.

"As I said earlier, Chloe Keene is your seCretary. You never get your paperwork done, so I've hired someone to do it for you. From now on, all you'll have to do is sign your name." Cuddy had taken on her business tone, her eyebrows were wrinkled, and her hands were on her hips.

"That doesn't seem very logical. My paperwork has big words Carrie here probably won't be able to understand." House was surprised that Cuddy had given in and allowed him to escape on of his least favorite things. If only she could hire someone to do his clinic hours...

"It's um, Chloe. Chloe Keene. And I've studied medicine, sort of. I'll be fine, I promise. My friend's a doctor too, he can help me if I need to work at home or something." Chloe, who had been silently observing Cuddy's and House's dispute, had finally piped in.

"It's already settled, House. Would you rather finish the overflow of paperwork by yourself? By all means, I can send Ms. Keene home..." Cuddy was putting her foot down.

"Fine, whatever, but I don't know where you're going to put her." House was standing up and heading into the conference room with his favorite red coffee cup.

The girls followed House out of the office. Cuddy was frustrated. She had just offered to make his job easier and he was just brushing it off like she had given him some useless gadget. "I-" House was right, Cuddy hadn't thought of where Chloe would go. She reprimanded herself for not thinking of something so basic. "She... will go..." Cuddy cut herself off and scanned the conference room. "... in here."

House quickly snapped his head around and stared at Cuddy. "You're insane, she would never fit in here."

"Well, if we move this cart over here, there may just be enough room for another desk, and your ego." Cuddy made her way over to the cart holding various coffee additives. She wheeled it around House, into the space between a file cabinet and the left of the coffee counter. "I'll call maintenance when I get back to my office." Cuddy was very pleased with herself.

House turned around and continued to pour himself a cup of coffee. "You'll confuse the kids. They'll wander in and think the world's been turned upside down."

"Kids?" Chloe was a bit amused at the show that Cuddy had put on. She looked silly scooting around a cart with her pointy heels, and the look on House's face forced Chloe to bite her tongue to keep from laughing, but House's latest comment slightly scared her. These two hadn't stopped tearing away at each other since the second she stepped in. Did they actually manage to have children together?

"Dr. House's team," Cuddy explained, "Three doctors that work with him to help him solve the medical cases he takes on."

"Oh, okay." Chloe was relieved she wouldn't have to look after actual children. She liked kids fair enough, but preferred a more peaceful working environment. Although, she thought that House and Cuddy were acting enough like 6 year olds to be let back in to kindergarten.

"Where are they, anyway?" Cuddy had just noticed that none of the juniors were anywhere to be seen.

"Dr. Bling is most likely running some useless test, the girl's trying to reunite the patient with his long lost twin, and the blonde one is probably looking in a mirror somewhere." House had moved over to the whiteboard, and had begun to study the symptoms of his latest case yet again.

Cuddy was getting tired of arguing with House, and needed to get back to work. "Where are they, House? And use their names, Chloe needs to be familiar with them, she's starting work today. She has a lot to get done"

"Then you should let her do it." House was also tired of bickering, and was trying to envelop himself in the case. He sensed Cuddy's aggravation. "Foreman and Cameron are running an MRI, Chase is checking on the blood work."

Chloe took a mental note, "Foreman, Cameron, Chase. Got it." Chloe was suddenly curious of the final name. "Chase? Like, Robert Chase?"

"Yeah?" A familiar Aussie voice had joined the conversation. The three turned around and saw Chase enter the conference room with a folder full of lab work.


	9. Surprises and Symptoms

Okay, since you are all _dying _to know what happens next... I will be nice and post the next chapter. I am also dying to know all of your reactions. However, there is a catch. I will not update until I figure out the conclusion to an upcoming problem... then the updates will slow down. tears. I know, I know, but I want to be sure of everything. Something is big is coming up, and I want it all to be perfect for you.

**Chapter 9- Surprises and Symptoms**

Chloe couldn't believe what she was hearing. She turned to face the direction the voice was coming from. "Robert?"

Chase ran to Chloe. He threw the folder on to the glass table, he didn't even notice a few papers fly out, some on the floor. "Chloe! Did something happen to you? What's wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong." She was trying to hold in a bit of a giggle. Chase was touching her face and checking her arms. He automatically assumed Chloe was at the hospital because she was ill.

Chase was very worried about Chloe. "Are you sick?" Chloe shook her head. "You didn't burn up the apartment did you?" A part of him still didn't trust Chloe at the stove.

Chloe started to laugh. "No, I'm fine, trust me." Finally, Chase let up. He smiled too- partly because he was glad Chloe was alright, partly because he realized he was making a big deal out of nothing. Obviously, if she had been sick she would've been in the clinic, not the conference room. "Why is she in the conference room?" Chase wondered, still holding Chloe.

During the little show Chase and Chloe put on, Cuddy had at first thought to retrieve the folder that had fallen askew, but then turned her attention to the couple, as had House. They looked at each other, and back at the two, who were now smiling at each other.

House looked back at Cuddy, who was in shock. "So... did Chase put you up to this? Hiring the sexretary?"

Cuddy broke out of her stupor. "House, I told you, you never do your paperwork, so I've hired someone to do it for you... and please stop using that term! Chase, you and Ms. Keene obviously already know each other, I'll leave it to you to introduce her to the rest of the team and show her around the hospital. And please remember, you are working, not taking a stroll in the park." Immediately the Chase and Chloe realized they were still touching, and let go, nervously smiling.

Cuddy continued on her little speech. "I'll get maintenance on that desk in a few minutes, after I check on the blood drive." Suddenly her tone became very harsh. "House, you still have 7 clinic hours this week! And quit harassing your new employee." With that, she slipped out the door, and into the hospital crowd.

House raised his eyebrows, and turned his attention back to his case. "Blood work, Chase."

Chase suddenly sprung into action "Right, well, she's a bit anemic, but other than that, things are looking fine."

"So, respiratory distress, muscle pain, fatigue, chronic headaches, IBS, depression and, anemia" House added the last symptom to the board.

All of a sudden, Cameron walked in. "The MRI was inconclusive." Then Cameron turned her attention to the black-haired girl next to Chase. "Who's this?"

"Hi, I'm Chloe Keene, it's nice to meet you." Chloe extended her hand to Cameron. "I'm House's secretary."

Cameron shook her hand. "Allison Cameron, it's nice to meet you. You're House's... secretary?"

"Yes, I just got hired today," Chloe said.

Cameron raised an eyebrow at Chase, who mouthed an "I don't know" to her.

House was still studying the whiteboard. "Well, we haven't found anything except a new symptom. Any ideas?"

Chase was the first to respond. "Fibromyaglia, the only problem is, we don't exactly have a way to test for it."

Cameron protested to Chase's prognosis. "There's no cure for that, and besides, the symptoms are so general, it could be a million other things. It has to be something else. It also doesn't explain the respiratory distress and the depression."

"She's in pain, chronic pain. That would make me depressed, and she probably experiences pain when breathing, making it hard to breathe, therefore, respiratory distress." Chase argued his point.

"I still think it could be something else." Cameron refused to believe that the patient had an incurable disease.

"Like what?" House had turned his attention back to his team. Cameron had no answer, House wasn't surprised. "Chase, run advanced blood tests and an EMG to test for Fibromyaglia. Actually, Cameron, you do that. Chase, give your friend that little tour that Cuddy wanted, and go find Foreman while you're at it." He headed back to his office and pulled out his Game Boy. Cameron let out a sigh of distress and left the room as well, leaving Chloe and Chase alone.

"This is going to be interesting." Chloe admitted. These office politics were certainly different than any she'd ever experienced.

Chase made his way to the door, opened it, and motioned for Chloe to exit. "You'll get used to it. For now, you can come with me, and I'll show you around."

The two found Foreman in the patient's room, making sure she got back from her MRI okay.

"Foreman, this is Chloe Keene, she's going to be working... um, around us?" Chase was unsure of the introduction he provided.

Foreman shook hands with Chloe. "Another doctor?"

"No, she's House's secretary," Chase explained.

"Really? Wow. Cuddy let him hire a secretary?" Foreman was surprised Cuddy would give in to such a request.

"Actually, I didn't know I was working for Dr. House until after I was offered the job. Dr. Cuddy interviewed me."

Chloe's response made Foreman laugh. "Well then, I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other then, but for now, I've gotta check the tox screen. See you two later."

"He seems nice," Chloe concluded.

"Yeah, right." Chase and Foreman were never really on friendly terms. However, Chase had noticed the Chloe had turned her attention to the patient, who was asleep. "The patient is Nora Tanner. Foreman found her in the Clinic this morning."

After the two left Nora's room, they made their way around the hospital, the Lucas wing, the Witherspoon wing, labs, the OR, ER, Clinic, etc, chatting about work along the way.

"So, how does this work? You get a patient, and run a bunch of tests until you figure out what's wrong?" Chloe had never been in a diagnostics department before.

"Basically, except House usually picks the patient. He needs them to be 'interesting'. Foreman, Cameron, and I find them in the clinic, ER, sometimes Cuddy brings them in, and in rare cases House finds them outside the hospital."

"How does an intensivist fit in to all of this?" Chloe knew that Chase's specialty was a rare one, but she expected him to be in an ICU.

"Usually, the patients we find are on the brink of death, or end up there right before we figure out what's wrong." Chase was checking Nora's monitors. "She seems fine right now, what do you say we head back to the conference room, Cameron should have the tests back, and I want to hear that I'm right about the Fibromyaglia."

Chloe laughed, as Chase led her out of the room.


	10. Extra Friendly

Just a couple of general comments: Snarkyness is very hard to write. I admire the writers on House. Thank you for the wonderful reviews. Oh yeah, and in this chapter, I'm dropping a bomb. Haha.

**Chapter 10- Extra Friendly**

Chase and Chloe got back to the room a split second after Cameron did. She was sitting at the table with Foreman and Wilson. House was standing next to the whiteboard, waiting for the test results from her.

"Here, sit down Chloe," said Foreman, getting up out of his seat. Chloe looked at Chase, who raised an eyebrow.

"Thank you Foreman." She took the seat, just as Cameron started to announce the test results.

"The tests strongly point to fibromyaglia, however, they aren't entirely conclusive, it could still be something else." Cameron flipped through the folder in her hands, looking for any sign that Nora was afflicted by anything but fibromyaglia.

"Well Dr. Cameron, as much as this diagnosis upsets you, we have no other options. Give her some antidepressants and send her to rheumatology." House started to erase the board, and prepare for a new patient.

"But the respiratory distress-" She was cut off by Chase

"...Can be explained by the pain from fibromyaglia, we've talked about this already Cameron." Chase was frustrated that Cameron kept trying to shut down his diagnosis. He was right, and House agreed with him, there shouldn't be any dispute.

"Still-" She was cut off again, this time by three men who had just entered the room. Two carrying in a small desk, and one carrying a chair. They were followed by Cuddy carrying in a box full of files.

"Ms. Keene, here is your first set of files. Try and have them done as soon as possible, you've got a lot more coming." Cuddy directed the last sentence at House, as she set the files on the desk, set in the corner. Then she looked back at Chloe. "If you need anything, office supplies, things like that, let me know. I put some pens and white out in the top drawer already, and there are medical books here in the conference room if you don't understand something."

"Thank you Dr. Cuddy, I'll be fine, I think." Chloe went to sit at the desk, to start her work. Cuddy shooed the maintenance men out of the room, and left the team to continue on about their patient.

Chase, who was leaning against the glass wall tried to make it to the seat Chloe was sitting at, but Foreman beat him to it. Chase sighed in exasperation. "Well, I'll go tell Nora and take her to rheumatology." He slipped through the door and into the hospital.

"Great. The rest of you, find something interesting for me to do for the rest of the week, something that will last more than..." House looked at the clock "3 hours. Wilson, cafeteria- you can buy me a reuben." Wilson sighed, and followed him out of the room.

"I have another hour of clinic duty. Maybe I'll find another case. Anyway, I'll see you guys later." Cameron also left, leaving Chloe fishing through the box for papers to fill out, and Foreman at the table with nothing to do.

Foreman sighed and looked at the clock. 12:21 pm. He walked over to Chloe's desk. "Do you need any help?"

Chloe looked up from the file she had just pulled out. "No, it looks like just a bunch of monotonous stuff- initial here, date here, patient's name, blah, blah, blah." She wrinkled her nose in confusion when she spotted a certain section of the sheet. "Do they really expect me to sign his name?"

Foreman tried to sit on the desk, but it was only big enough for the papers and Chloe's elbows. He accepted defeat and leaned on the desk with his arms outstretched. "Cameron does- uh, did it all the time. I guess she won't have to be doing it anymore. But, it doesn't matter, as long as it's done and accurate, the hospital doesn't care. They rarely check this stuff, anyway."

"Oh, okay." Chloe had returned her attention to the papers, and started to fill them out.

Foreman straightened up and nonchalantly scanned the room. "What do you say we go get something to eat before you have to settle down too much. My treat."

Chloe's mind immediately went to Chase. "I don't know, Dr. Cuddy says there's a lot of paperwork and I want to get ahead-"

Foreman interrupted her. "Trust me, House is over a year behind in his paperwork, so you'll be busy for a while. Come on, it'll be like a 'welcome to the hospital' lunch."

Chloe looked at Foreman, and then back at her paperwork. Then at her watch, the watch Chase had given her. 12:24 pm. Then she looked back at Foreman, who was smiling at her. "What could it hurt?" She thought to herself. "I'll only be a little while, and I need to get to know these people, I mean, I'll be seeing them practically everyday from now on..." Finally, she stood up. "Okay, sure."

"Great." Foreman went to the door, and opened it for Chloe. "The cafeteria here isn't so bad. Did Chase show it to you?" Chloe shook her head no. "Chase is forgetful sometimes, don't worry about it." Chloe opened her mouth to defend Chase, but was cut off. "Where are you from?"

"Uh, North Carolina. Charlotte." She tried to be polite, but wasn't sure if she liked Foreman just yet. She knew Chase didn't, and she could tell from Foreman's tone that he didn't think to highly of Chase either.

The two arrived at the elevator, Chloe was about to push the button when Foreman grabbed her arm and pulled her in a different direction. "Here, we can take the stairs. They're a lot faster."

Just as Foreman opened the door to the stairs, the elevator doors opened. Chloe went through to the stairs, but not before she was spotted by Chase, who had just come out of the elevator. Foreman followed Chloe, and just as he shut the door, caught Chase's eye.


	11. The Cafeteria Spectacle

I've reposted this chapter, there was an error, I forgot to include a line, so, reread it, it'll make more sense.

-Case

Chase couldn't believe his eyes. Maybe he should check in with House, because he must be hallucinating. Where- why would Chloe be going with Foreman? "Calm down, Chase," he said to himself. All of these thoughts seemed to have moved through his mind slowly, over several minutes, but it was actually just a few seconds. He pushed the empty wheelchair that once held Nora out of the elevator and back to the nurse's stand, but he was only slightly aware of what he was doing. Most of his focus was still on Chloe and Foreman.

Foreman had a look in his eyes when he saw Chase, a look that sort of said "I'll win this girl before you can even say a word to her." Chase hated that about Foreman. Everything was some petty competition to him. Chase especially hated that he thought Chloe was some prize. He didn't even know her! The way she smiled like a little girl whenever he said something Australian, like 'mate' or 'bugger'; the way she wrinkled her nose when she was confused; how she liked to surprise him with little presents for no apparent reason; the way she smelled like lavender, no matter what. Chase suddenly saw his reflection in the glass door leading to the conference room. He had on a goofy smile, and if he didn't think the 'person' in front of him looked completely idiotic, he probably would have walked straight into the door.

"I need to wake up." Chase didn't know if he was tired or if he was... something else. He made his way to the cafeteria to get some coffee, the team had already drank all of their coffee, and he didn't feel like making any more. He made sure to focus on getting there without practically walking into a wall this time.

The cafeteria was full of people; visitors, blood donors, and other doctors. However, even through all of the people, Chase was able to spot the exact two people he secretly hoped he would find. He forgot all about his coffee and went straight to the registers where they were.

"That's it?" Foreman looked at Chloe's plate. All that was on it was a fruit salad and a bottle of water.

"I don't usually eat a lot for lunch, Dr. Foreman," Chloe lied, in all reality, she felt that if she ate anything, she wouldn't be able to keep it down. She had a strange feeling that she shouldn't be where she was, but she put up a front, and showed Foreman a small, but friendly, smile.

"You don't have to say 'doctor' before everybody's names," he laughed. "I'll just have to treat you to a proper meal later." Foreman paid for the meals. "Oh here, let me take that for you." He picked up Chloe's tray, and started to head for an empty table.

"Foreman is being especially nice to Chloe," thought Chase when he saw him pick up her tray. "I'll just have to do something about that." Suddenly, he sped to where they were, and Chloe heard footsteps coming her way. Fast. Before she could even react, Chase grabbed her tightly by the waist and planted a big, no, HUGE kiss on her lips- right there in front of the entire cafeteria. Chloe went weak in the knees from it, but Chase had such a tight, yet loving, grip on her that she didn't fall. She grabbed his neck anyway, partly because she couldn't support herself, and partly because she was getting very in to the kiss.

All eyes were on them, including House's, who took this opportunity to let out a very loud wolf whistle. That finally snapped the two back to reality, and they broke the kiss. They were still holding each other though, and Chloe still felt like she couldn't hold herself up.

Chase however had a smile on his face and the look of fire in his eyes. He looked at Foreman, and then back at Chloe. "There you are you little bugger, I've been looking all over for you."

Chloe, who was looking rather dazed, smiled when Chase called her 'bugger', just like he had expected her to. "What was that for?"

The lady at the register cleared her throat. People were still looking at them. Foreman moved to the empty table he had his eyes on, and Chloe and Chase moved, unknowingly, in the same direction. Chase still had his arm around her waist.

"Yeah, Chase, what was that for?" Foreman was obviously annoyed.

"What's wrong Foreman? A guy can't kiss his girlfriend when he wants to?" Chase smirked, and held on to Chloe a bit tighter.

Chase's grip was starting to hurt her a little bit. She could also sense the competition between the two doctors. "Was Chase really looking for me? That was the best kiss I've had in years, did he do it for me, or did he do it rub it in Foreman's face?" She stopped herself before the questions got too serious for her to handle.

At the sound of the word 'girlfriend', Foreman winced, ever so slightly, and looked quizzically at Chloe.

Chloe opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She looked at the floor, and then at the food on the table. "Um, thank you, Foreman, but I'm not so hungry after all. I think I'm just going to get back to that paperwork now." She broke free of Chase's grip, and started to walk back to the office. Chase however, grabbed her by the arm, and started to kiss her 'goodbye'. Chloe didn't allow it to last too long, though. She stopped kissing him suddenly, leaving Chase with a surprised look on his face, and Foreman with a smile on his. Then, she looked into Chase's eyes for a moment, Chase noticed that there was hurt in them, changing his expression from one of surprise to one of confusion and a bit of sadness. Chloe blinked back a couple of tears, and walked out of the cafeteria.

"Somebody's in trouble..." House said in a singsong voice. Chloe unknowingly had passed Wilson and his table. He had been watching them from a few yards away, waiting for his reuben to get cold. "This secretary thing could be more fun that I thought. Remind me to thank Cuddy later."

"House, be nice. She's new, and according to Cuddy, you've repeatedly called her a, what was it...?" Wilson stopped to think, and took a bite of his salad.

"A sexretary. And don't think of hitting on her like you do with all the other new girls that walk through the hospital doors. Besides, Foreman's already tried it, look how that turned out. On second thought, forget I told you not to hit on her." House said indifferently, his eyes still on Chase and Foreman. Wilson just sighed and continued eating.

"You handled that beautifully." Foreman sat down and folded his arms. Chase glared at him, and then followed Chloe. Foreman laughed, and then turned his attention to his turkey sandwich.

Chloe raced to the conference room, but even so, she didn't make it back too quickly. She got off on the wrong floor, and when she made it to her floor, she took a left when she should've taken a right, both of which made her increasingly angrier. All she cared about was burying herself in a pile of paperwork, which wouldn't be too hard, House was a year behind, according to Foreman. Ugh, Foreman. Why did she say yes to him? Eventually she made her way back to her desk, and opened the folder she had been working on earlier, but all she could think about was the incident in the cafeteria. She knew Chase was competitive, and she knew that Foreman had a second agenda. Why couldn't she put two and two together? Before she knew it, there were tears falling on the papers, smearing some of the ink. "Oh great," she grumbled, and went to the sink to grab a paper towel. Of course, in her distress, she wasn't paying attention, and turned too soon, causing her to hit her leg on the sharp corner of the desk. "Stupid!" She yelled at the desk, and then kicked it. Why was she so upset? Finally, she just fell to the ground, crying.


	12. Regrets

I'm keeping the intro short and sweet: thanks for the reviews, and i hope you like this one!

-case

**Chapter 12- Regrets**

Chloe didn't know it, but Chase had seen everything. He had got back to the conference room just as Chloe was opening her folder. He saw her tears fall, saw her hurt herself, and saw her collapse. His eyes widened when she reached the floor, and immediately he came to her rescue. He took her into his arms, and tried to help her to one of the chairs, but Chloe didn't let him.

"Maybe I should go out into the hall, you'd have a better audience," she sneered.

"No need, glass doors," he said, trying to lighten the mood.

Chloe was not amused. She just scoffed, and leaned up against the desk she hated so much.

"Listen, I just-" Chase started to apologize, but it was hard for him. He didn't exactly know what had just come over him in the past 15 minutes.

Luckily, Chloe cut him off. "No." She paused. "I thought at first that it was sweet when you kissed me in front of everybody." She was trying so, so hard not to cry, she knew that the floodgates would open any second, but she couldn't stop herself, or she would never be able to say "It made me weak in the knees."

Chase smiled a bit. "I could tel-"

"Don't. I'm not done yet." Chloe didn't mean any of what she said as a compliment, and Chase didn't exactly realize it. "You hadn't kissed me like that since the day you left. I thought that kiss meant something." Pressure was building up. The tears were dying to break through, but Chloe wouldn't let them. She inhaled sharply, and spoke again. "But the second- the SECOND, Robert Chase, that we stopped kissing, you looked not at me, you looked at Foreman. Oh, and come to think of it, you've never called me bugger before either. I'd hate to think that you're using our relationship just to one-up Foreman." She was fuming, and if she had gotten anymore hot-headed, the tears in her eyes would have turned into steam. "You know how I like surprises, how I like to be cute, how I like it when you say something Australian; and in about 3 seconds you did all three, and I thought you did it because you were doing something special just for me. But no Robert, you took one step forward and two steps back. You are acting just as selfish as you did when I first met you 3 years ago."

At that moment, she simply couldn't stand it anymore. The tears came down, fleeting out of her eyes like mad. She stood up, and ran out of the room, not exactly knowing where to go. She didn't care, just as long as she was as far away from Chase as possible. Just as she turned the corner, she ran into Cameron.

Chase was still on the floor in front of Chloe's desk, dumbfounded. All he could do was sit there with his mouth agape, thinking that he was such an idiot. Chloe was right about everything, and he couldn't help but admit it. When he was kissing her, his first thought was, "I haven't done this in years, and it feels good." He just wanted to melt into it, and forget about everything. But when Chloe started to fall, he became more conscious of what he was doing. He was suddenly aware that he was in the cafeteria, and that people were watching them. This didn't bother him so much. However, he also knew that Foreman was watching them, and that he had Chloe there for a reason: to 'get to know her a little better', and Chase was not having any of that. In a split second that good feeling he had was washed away by jealousy and his competitive nature. The wolf whistle did two things: fueled his drive, and made him aware that House was in the room (which embarrassed him slightly and made him stop kissing Chloe). She was also right about the selfishness. Chase couldn't believe himself, he was letting all these feelings get to him, feelings that normally, he could hold back. He sighed and put his hands on his now throbbing forehead, and laid down on the floor. All he could think about was one word: 'selfish'. Chloe had only called him that once before, and really, really meant it.


	13. Things Are Not What They Seem

Okay kids, back to the past, we're gonna be back here for a while, so don't get thrown off. Oh yeah, and I think it's funny that Allison Chase has discovered a trick to know how my story will play out. Will you do it too? Anyway, R&R and I'll love you forever.

-Case

**Chapter 13- Things Are Not What They Seem**

It had been almost three weeks, and Chase had grown to like Charlotte- and Chloe. He didn't really mind that he had to sleep in the living room, on an old sleeper sofa, he found it quite comfortable, really. He enjoyed seeing all of the old colonial houses that Chloe took him to as well. Mostly he liked the look on her face when they were touring the house. Her eyes sparkled, and even though she told him she'd seen them a thousand times, he could tell that she was still fascinated by their old southern charm, and he loved that about her. Chloe in front of an old winding staircase was a kid in a candy store. She caressed the wrought iron banisters and smiled as they traveled from floor to floor, and room to room.

"I love everything about those houses," she would tell him as they walked outside after each tour. She didn't need to say anything, Chase could tell by the look on her face. He never exactly learned anything new about colonial Charlotte when they left the houses. He usually spent more time watching Chloe.

Chloe fought the urge to involve herself with Chase romantically. She could tell that he was getting more comfortable around her, subtly. He would sit a bit closer to her on the couch every day, and without realizing it, they would be holding hands during their colonial tours. When she became conscious of what they were doing, she would suddenly become engrossed in some painting or urn across the room.

Of course, she found Chase irresistible at first. She saw him on the curb, looking very cute, with his pointy nose buried in a guide book. A week had gone by, and they had grown closer, and she kept her promise: she gave him a nickname. 'Chase-Face', she called him, after the expression he gave whenever he was confused, or in deep thought. Eventually, it stuck. She enjoyed having Chase around the apartment. It had been just her for about 8 months, and she didn't like it. Chase seemed to be the perfect answer; he was sweet, funny, and easy to talk to. However, she had soon discovered that he was used to being... pampered.

The first week was fine, he would get his own food, do his own laundry, and let her pick the channels to watch. But, during the second week, his manners started to slip, and he would ride on Chloe's 'southern hospitality'. If she just happened to be in the kitchen, he would ask her to get him a glass of water or something, which wasn't too bad. When they were watching TV, he would flip the channel whenever a commercial was on, which was a bit annoying, but nothing she couldn't handle. But the straw that broke the camel's back was the laundry. Chase only had about 6 days worth of clothes, and after the first 4 days, he washed his dirty ones. Although after about 5 more days, Chase didn't really feel like doing his laundry, and kind of let the clothes in the hamper in his bathroom pile up, hoping that Chloe would get a bit more annoyed and be forced to do it herself. Which did, in fact, happen.

There was one other problem: Chase had no job, and not a lot of money. He had been so concerned with getting out of Australia, he hadn't considered what would happen after he escaped. He was also used to his credit cards- his dad's money. Well, all of that was cut off by his second day in Charlotte. (He had discovered that one night when he had offered to buy Chloe dinner- which was thoroughly embarrassing).

Chloe suggested that he apply for a job, he seemed like a good enough doctor. But there was a catch there, too. All of his files, his resume, his letters of recommendation, everything was back in Australia. He would've just written up another one, but Chloe's computer was fried, and couldn't be fixed until the end of the month.

She wouldn't have been bothered by this so much, except all Chase did all day was sit around, waiting for her to come home. He didn't ever clean, or at least tidy up. He was always ready to go out when she got home, too. Chloe, worked at a facility that ran afterschool programs for young children, and was usually ready to crash as soon as she walked through the door. But she couldn't, she would be putting Chase's dirty dishes in the sink, or making up the sofa bed while he stood around, and watched.

Chase didn't understand why Chloe was being so uptight about everything. So what if he didn't put his cup in the sink right away? It would get there eventually. Why did it matter if the bed was made or not? No one was ever around to see it. On day 20, Chase asked her why she cared so much about everything.

Chloe had come home from a particularly hard day at work, and all she wanted to do was soak in a nice hot tub. Of course, the only bathtub in the apartment was in the main bathroom- the bathroom Chase had been using. That's when she saw it. Clothes on the floor, toothpaste on the sink, shaving cream on the faucet; basically, a big mess. She was dying on the inside, but part of her knew that if she forced Chase to move out, he would be stuck on the streets, and she just couldn't do that to him, she couldn't take her anger out on Chase himself... so what else could she do? She took the laundry on the floor, and threw it across the hall. It hit the wall and knocked down a picture frame. Great. One more thing for her to get mad at. That's when Chase walked down and found her angrily gathering his clothes and preparing to chuck it out once again.

"What are you doing?" He approached her, and gently lowered her arms for her. She calmed down lightly, and then he led her to the living room, which of course, was a mess too. That triggered another outburst.

"I'm cleaning my house! Look at this place, it's a pig stye!" Chloe was about to pull her hair out as she jumped up and faced Chase, who was sitting on the edge of the sofa bed.

Then he said it. "Why do you care so much?"

"Why, Robert? You want to know why I care about my home? Here's the reason: you don't care at all! You're selfish, and rude, and inconsiderate. I thought you were a different person when I invited you to stay with me. Part of me said 'no Chloe, you don't even know this guy', but I fought it, and told myself that it was the perfect situation. But here I am, about to gouge my eyes out because you have gradually turned into a spoiled slob!" Maybe she was overreacting, but she couldn't really be blamed. Her lifestyle had been taken over.

Chase couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe that Chloe was screaming at him, and he also couldn't believe that it was for a totally legitimate reason. He had tried to hard to get away from his previous, grandiose upbringing, but he had been so used to it, it just leaked out. "I, I'm sorry, Chloe. I didn't know you felt that way. Um, I'll just-"

Chloe, who had her face in her hands, cut him off. "Listen, Anna asked me to meet her later for drinks. I think I'm going to take her up on that offer. Just... chill out here for a while, okay? I'll be back in a couple of hours." With that, she walked out the door, leaving Chase to contemplate his behavior.

When she got to the bar, Anna noticed Chloe was not her normal, cheery self. Actually, Chloe had not been her normal, cheery self for the past several days.

"How's the Crocodile Hunter?" Anna joked.

"Ha, ha," Chloe drawled. "He's not a crocodile hunter. Although my apartment is starting to turn into a jungle."

"What?" Anna prodded Chloe, and then ordered two drinks. Then, Chloe's story came pouring out. How she felt, how she fought those feelings, how she didn't expect this gorgeous guy to turn out so horribly, how she finally let it build up to all it had become..

"Alright sweetheart, here's what you're gonna do: you're gonna suck down the rest of this cosmopolitan, go home, and have a talk with him- like a proper southern lady. Teach him how to hold his own. If you can teach a 5 year old how to make a sun hat out of newspaper and pipe cleaners, you can teach a 25-year-old how to do his own laundry."

Chloe weighed her options for a moment. Then she knocked back her drink, and said goodbye to Anna. On the drive home, she did some serious thinking. Eventually she decided that it would probably be best for both of them if she and Chase weren't so close.

When she got home, everything was clean. Dishes weren't just in the sink, they were clean, and put away. The sofa bed turned back into just a sofa, and there were no clothes on the floor. In fact, they were all in a suitcase. Chloe couldn't believe her eyes.

Just then, Chase popped out of the bathroom. "I made reservations at a hotel. I'll be gone in just a second, I was just checking to make sure I didn't leave anything."

Chloe didn't know what to do. Part of her had wanted him to leave, then she could have her old life back. But now that he was actually about to walk out the door. The other half of her that wanted him to stay was screaming at her, tell her to stop him. "No," she tried to yell, but she only whispered.

"What was that?" Chase couldn't hear her, she was barely audible. If he wasn't paying attention, he wouldn't have known that she had said anything at all.

Chloe didn't exactly know what she was doing, she only knew that she had to do it. "Stay here, you can't go out there alone."

"I won't be alone, we'll still be in contact. But for now, I think it's best if we don't see each other for a while." Chase didn't understand, he was trying to make things better, and Chloe wasn't having any of it.

"I was tired earlier, can't we just talk about this?"

"It's already done, Chloe. Look, everything's ready."

"You don't have to walk out that door, it's that simple." Chloe was about to cry.

"Chloe, I don't understand, you're either sick of me or you're not. This was fun for a while, but it just isn't working out."

"I wasn't sick of you, I was sick of the mess. But I mean, look at this place, it's spotless, you're obviously capable of cleaning up after yourself, why can't you just... do that all the time?" Chloe didn't understand what she was going on about either. She was at a loss for words.

"I would, if that's what the main problem was. But you've got something else bothering you, I can tell, and when you're ready to confront that, maybe we can see each other again." Chase grabbed his suitcase and started towards the door.

Chloe could see everything happening in slow motion. Each step he took, his hand reaching for the doorknob, the parting glance he gave, full of sorrow. She had to do something, it felt wrong for him to leave. But all she could do was stand there, and hold in her tears.


	14. Goodbye?

Glad you guys are all enjoying the fic... here's the next bit. You know what to do! (Cou-R&R-gh) Sorry if it's a bit short... it'll get better I promise.

-Case

**Chapter 14- Goodbye?**

Chase walked out the door, and then shut it after himself. Then he waited. He waited for what seemed like hours (it was really only five minutes) for Chloe to come out and make him change him mind. He thought he heard something, but she never came. He sighed before he headed to the elevator and out into Charlotte, all on his own.

As soon as Chase shut the door, Chloe went up and leaned on it. It looked like she was trying to hug the wall, but really, she was hoping that she could hear Chase through it. Her hand fell onto the doorknob, but she couldn't bring herself to turn it. She held her breath, but she swore her heart was going to burst out of her chest. After a while, she heard a very soft 'ping'- the elevator bell. She knew that was it. She turned her back on the door and slowly sunk down, and rested her head on her knees. Her mascara-stained tears painted black rows down her face as she thought to herself, "What does he mean? I don't have any other problems. I just want him to do his laundry, that's all." She sat there and cried all night, and eventually fell asleep in front of the door.

Chase called a cab to take him to his hotel. It was pretty standard, maybe a bit below. He only had enough for a few nights, emergency money he had hidden deep in his suitcase. His room had one bed and a 7-inch television with about 10 channels. The bed was hard, and didn't smell too hot, but it's all he had. He really wished Chloe would've come out and stopped him. After he ordered in some Chinese, he had nothing else to do, so he laid on the bed and went to sleep.

Chloe woke up with a very sore back. She picked herself up off the hardwood floors and made it to the sofa. She regretted being so distraught that she couldn't do that before she had fallen asleep. The sofa smelled like Chase, and she actually sat there with her face in one of the pillows for a very long time. She contemplated going to see him. It was odd being by herself in her apartment after 3 weeks. It was 3 weeks to the day from when she first met Chase, from when he first stepped foot into her home. That week was one of the best weeks of her life, and yesterday was the complete opposite. Chase was leaving her, and she felt so horrible. She had wanted him to leave just 24 hours ago, and now he was all she could think about. She had to decide what she wanted more: Chase or a clean apartment. Why did she have to freak out so much when she couldn't have both?


	15. Decisions, Decisions

Sorry that last one was so short, it was very difficult to decide how to approach the next part of the fic. Anyway, I hope you all like this next bit, R&R, and I'll have the next chapter up soon.**  
**

-case**  
**

**Chapter 15- Decisions, Decisions**

Chloe stood up and began to contemplate her options aloud. Almost involuntarily, she started pacing... partly because it helped her think, partly because it helped her back feel a bit better. "Okay. I just need to think. It had been just me for a long time, and then on some strange impulse, I allowed someone I barely knew to come and live with me, based on the initial notion that I wanted to jump his bones. I, however fought that impulse, owing to the fact that it would only further complicate our living arrangements. I kept our relationship on a 'strictly friends' basis, and in the beginning, I would treat him like a relative that was staying in my home for a short time. I took him to all my favorite signature southern attractions, and during that time, I discovered that my feelings were not exclusively derived from lust." Chloe was gesturing and getting louder with every discovery. It helped her though, she needed to find out exactly what she wanted, and why she had been acting so crazy lately. She continued, "However, that was only the first week of it. After I had started to become more in tune with said feelings, that's when the problems started. Minuscule, at first, but still they were annoying." When Chloe would reach the end of the room, she would turn on her heels, and start walking in the other direction. Her movements were slow and methodical, and the only thing to be heard besides her voice was the click-clack of the heels she never took off the evening before. At the end of each of her long thoughts, she would pause, think for a second, and then continue walking in the same fashion as before. "Fast forward two weeks. My faith in this relationship is diminishing. This man that once made me smile for no apparent reason is giving me headaches as soon as I walk in the door. He is jobless and broke. However this is not as discouraging as the horrible mess my home has become victim to." At this statement, Chloe stopped and observed her apartment. There was no mess, as there had been for the past week and a half. She attributed her ability to think clearer to the cleanliness of the place. But was it that really? She kept going on her monologue of reasoning. "I am now back where I was before that inciting incident 3 weeks ago. I hated my life before then. Everything had fallen apart, and I decided that I needed something new in my life. Enter Robert Chase, regurgitate everything I just said, and now, here I am. Alone and regretting the last..." she looked at the clock on the wall. "14 hours of my life." She sighed and finally plopped back down onto the couch. "What am I getting at?" she grumbled. She replayed the day before in her head. She remembered her talk with Anna. Anna had never steered her wrong before, so she decided to take her advice. "Robert is certainly more difficult than a five year old." she laughed. Then she headed back to her room to get ready for the day.

Chase woke up to the sound of a car alarm. After rolling over and realizing that he was wearing the exact same clothes from yesterday, he decided to get up and take a shower. The bathroom was small, there were only the necessities: a shower, a sink, and a toilet. The shower head was a little more than a pipe jutting out of the wall, and the sink water tasted like well-water. It took him longer than usual to get ready because the area was so small, he had to maneuver around very carefully just to shampoo his hair or shave. Finally, he finished. He went back to the room, sat on the bed, and flipped on the TV. General Hospital. Chase hated it within the first 10 minutes. He turned off the show, and decided to walk around town. Bad idea. The streets flooded his mind with thoughts of Chloe. Dammit, he missed her... a lot, now that he realized it.

Chloe didn't exactly know where to begin. She decided to ask Anna for a bit more advice, and headed down to Rachael's Kitchen to find her. It was 9:30, and the Saturday morning breakfast rush was heavy. Chloe took her usual seat and ordered some coffee. She sipped it as she waited for Anna to find a spare moment. Finally, about 15 minutes later, she did took the seat across from Chloe and handed her a cup of fresh coffee. Then, after taking a long drink out of her own mug, she started to question Chloe. "So, he's gone, and you miss him. Where did he go?" Chloe shrugged her shoulders while Anna took another drink. "Well, what are you gonna do? Walk around town and hopefully you'll bump into him?" Chloe gave her a look that embarrassingly said 'yes', which made Anna laugh. "I thought you wanted him to leave?"

Chloe finally spoke. "I thought I did too, but now that it's actually happened, I hate it. I hate the way it feels. I practically kicked a helpless foreigner out on the streets."

Anna burst out laughing at Chloe's conclusion. "No, sweetie, he's hardly helpless. Unfamiliar, yes, but he's a grown man, he knows how to handle himself."

Chloe took a gulp of her own cup of coffee. The warmth of it was comforting, and it calmed her down a bit. "True, but still... I don't like... the idea of him being... out there... alone."

Anna looked straight into her best friend's eyes. They had known each other since their freshman year of high school, and this was one of those moments where their 'best friend intuition' was kicking in. She could see a sort of worry in Chloe, and it wasn't just because Chase was alone, but it was also because yet again, Chloe had driven away something that started to know her a bit to intimately for her comfort. Anna knew that she wasn't the best at relationships, her high school flings never lasted more than a couple of weeks at best. She had a problem with close relationships. She didn't know how to handle them. However, when she inadvertently ended them, she always regretted being too scared about them. Anna took a deep breath. "Chloe, I think you're more afraid of being alone yourself."

A single tear, fell down Chloe's cheek. She knew what Anna was thinking in that 2 seconds of silence, partly because deep down, she was thinking it too. And when Anna finally said it out loud, she knew she had to admit it to herself. "Maybe I am. Maybe I'm just scared that if he knows too much about me, he'll leave. I'm not perfect. I like perfection... a bit too much, apparently. I like Robert. I'm also afraid that if I find out something about him I don't like, what if I stop liking him? I don't want to stop liking him, because right now, I really, really like him. I'm living with him. I'm thinking about him, I'm talking about him, I'm-"

Anna cut her off. "You're thinking about this way too much! Just go out there and find him, and tell him how you feel, and what happens happens, and what doesn't doesn't. That's all you need to know. I mean, I've been with Ethan for 3 years. We're getting married. I've seen him pick his nose, scratch his butt, and talk to himself in the mirror... trust me, not attractive. But I've also seen the way the stars reflect in his eyes at night, I've seen him down on one knee asking for me to be his for the rest of his life, and trust me, it's things like that that matter in the end. Don't worry if you figure out Robert flosses while drives or something, because if you really feel that strongly about him, it's not what you're thinking about when he's around"

Chloe smiled. "Thanks Anna. You always know what to do."

Anna stood up, and picked up the coffee cups to clear off the table. "That's what I'm here for. Now... go find him!"

Chloe laughed, and waved to Anna on her way out the door. She took a deep breath as soon as she got outside. "Robert, I hope you're out there."


	16. Kiss and Make Up

Sorry 'bout the delayed updates, but I decided to be mean b/c I've only gotten like 2 reviews... (thnx urbanfan4evr!) Anyway, I still love you all, and here's the next bit. It's quite fluffy, but I was just SO ready to get away from NC, and this seemed the easiest way to do it. Hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 16- Kiss and Make Up **

Chase was alone in a city that he was quite unfamiliar with. He should've paid attention more when Chloe was driving him around, but no. He was too busy watching her to even think about street signs. He had walked around for about 30 minutes, aimlessly. He was hoping to find any sort of recognizable surroundings, with no avail. Finally, he found a bench on a street corner and sat down. Pulling that same old guidebook out of his jacket pocket, he began to read. Nothing really helped him. All of the information was mainly for tourists. Top rated restaurants, popular hotels, assorted tourist traps... even the houses he visited with Chloe were in there. Flipping through that book only brought more thoughts of her to his mind. He put down the book, and set his face in his hands. He wished he had never been so stubborn that he took advantage of Chloe. He felt strongly about her. No one back in Australia had ever really seen him. She had found him when he was completely lost. She was what he needed, and he abused that. It didn't matter anymore, she was probably back at home, and he was stuck on a bench in the middle of Charlotte. He probably looked like a sad idiot. He sat up, and picked up the guidebook again. This time, he flipped to the map section. He looked at the page, but he wasn't really seeing what was on it. He was too distracted by the thoughts bubbling around in his head. He realized this was the same bench where the two first met. He could practically smell her lavender perfume.

"Are you lost?" A familiar voice recited those fateful first words.

Chase turned around. He couldn't believe she was there. Leaning over his shoulder, a weak smile on her face. Chloe couldn't believe she had found him, ironically, exactly where they met. After she finished her talk with Anna, she walked a few blocks down the street, and there he was, with his head in his hands. She went to approach him, but just as she stepped forward, he sat up. She hesitated, and Chase opened the guidebook next to him. Chloe walked up to him from behind, then realized the familiarity of the situation. This moment 3 weeks ago changed her life. Should she do this? Too late, she was already about an inch away from him, she may as well go ahead with it and damn the risk of seeming like a fool.

"Chloe?" Chase's cool green eyes met her warm brown ones.

"I was hoping I would find you. I've been out here for forever." Chloe rested her arms on the back of the bench.

"I didn't think you would want to see me again," Chase said, discouraged.

"I didn't know what I was thinking, I always get crazy in situations when..." Her voice trailed off.

"When what?" Chase saw the sadness in her eyes.

"When... I..." Chloe couldn't believe she was about to admit this out loud. "I start to fall for someone." She held her breath while waiting for Chase's answer. He was speechless. "I know I've only known you for less than a month, but it's just... something I couldn't help." Chloe came around and sat down next to Chase. "I'm sorry if I'm confusing you. I'm not usually that great when it comes to relationships."

"What does this mean?" Chase wondered aloud. "I mean, I completely took advantage of you, I was rude and a slob, and I totally messed up your way of life." Secretly, he was very glad that Chloe was attracted to him, but he didn't know how. He wasn't used to having people care about him unconditionally.

"You weren't rude, and you being messy is something you can get over. You didn't mess up my way of life, either." Chase raised an eyebrow at her. "Okay, fine, you threw me off, but it's not like I didn't ask for it. I wanted someone to live with me, I had been looking for a while. I didn't expect to find one when I did, and where I did, but hey, I took a chance. Of course, I didn't think I would end up falling for you and then inadvertently kicking you out, but I did, and now we're on a bench on the side of the road."

"So, you want me to move back in with you?"

"Do you want to move back in with me?"

"I want to do whatever would make you happy." Chase sighed.

Chloe stood up. "Robert. You make me happy. Really happy." There were tears welling up in her eyes, even though she was smiling.

Chase stood up as well. He looked down at her, and wiped away a tear that was falling down her left cheek. Chloe took hold of his hand when he did. She whispered, "Really, really happy..." She didn't know what else to say.

Chase took hold of her chin, and brought her lips closer to his. "I love you too."


	17. Soup, Salad, and Sob Stories

Hey kids, here's the next installment. Draconiandevil: I know you like the flashbacks, but they're quite hard to write, but don't worry, I've got an idea for another one brewing in my head. Urbanfan: Thanks for the encouragement (that goes for all you other faithful reviewers too!)

**Chapter 17- Soup, Salad, and Sob Stories**

"Chloe?" Cameron noticed her disposition as soon as she saw her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said as she tried to wipe her face and stop herself from crying. She also tried to walk past Cameron, but she wouldn't let her.

"Hey, I was going to go to the cafeteria to get some food, maybe you should join me," Cameron offered.

"No! I am never going back there, ever," Chloe asserted at a very stunned Cameron. "Sorry, it's a long story..."

"How about we check out the bistro down the road? My treat." Cameron's natural kindness was starting to shine through.

Chloe contemplated this for a split second. It would be nice to have a girl to talk to. It had been just her and Chase since Friday, and she needed a nice chat to take the cafeteria fiasco off of her mind. "Sure, that would be great, thank you."

Cameron paged House to let him know they were leaving, and then was off with Chloe. They arrived at the bistro, and took a seat outside, on the porch. By this time, Chloe had had a chance to compose herself, and when they sat down at the table, realized that she didn't have her purse- therefore, no means to fix her face up. "Ugh, I look like a mess," she finally sighed.

"Oh, don't worry about it, you look fine. It's not like there's anybody worth impressing around here." Cameron assured her. Just then the waitress arrived to take their orders. After they both ordered a soup and a salad, Cameron decided to ask her new colleague what was bothering her.

"You don't want to hear it, it's very, very long, and quite complicated." Chloe shrugged.

"We've got time, there aren't any pending cases at the hospital, and the clinic can wait." In the back of her mind she thought, if House can put off clinic duty, so can I. "If Cuddy gives you any trouble about the paperwork, I'll talk to her for you."

Chloe found Cameron to be exceptionally benevolent. She decided to open up to her, she lived here now, and was going to need another friend besides Chase... if she would still be friends with him after today. Finally, she explained to her how she and Chase met back in NC, and how she was unsure of their relationship at first. She further noted that eventually they became much closer, but then discovered he had to leave to come to NJ. By the time she had gotten that far, their food had arrived. They paused to eat a bit, and then Chloe continued with the story. All the way from her first night back with him, to today's incident in the cafeteria.

"Sound's like it's been a crazy time for you two." Cameron finally interjected.

"Yeah, I mean... I love him, but today it was just like..." She paused as if she had just realized she discovered something. "Wow."

Cameron looked up from her salad fork, which was about halfway from the plate to her mouth, and set it down. "What?"

"I said that I loved him." Chloe was astonished with herself. "I haven't said that for years." She said it again. "I love Robert Chase." She laughed at herself a bit, and sat back in her chair.

"That's probably why you're feeling so low right now. He hurt you and you love him, so it hurts even worse. Don't let it cloud your judgement, things will just end up badly." Cameron was thinking back to her own feelings for House.

"What should I do?" Chloe leaned back up again, and took another spoonful of soup.

Cameron suddenly looked down at her hip. Her beeper had just gone off. "We should get back to the hospital. Here, I'll ask for the check, and you go to the bathroom and get cleaned up a bit. Then we can talk on the way back."

Chloe agreed, and headed into the restroom. It was really nice, it had 3 huge mirrors and a couch in one section, and there were doors leading to the actual toilets. She headed to the sink to rinse her face off, but caught sight of herself in one of the mirrors. "Ha, I'm a total wreck," she admitted, as she turned on the sink.

After he splashed her face a few times, she went back to Cameron, who had already paid for the meal, and was taking her last sip of diet coke before they had to leave. "All ready? Let's go." She led Chloe to the car, and when they left the parking lot she spoke again. "You should talk to Chase."

"Yeah, I should." Was all she could think to say.

"Are you going to?"

"Yeah, I guess so. But part of me wants to stay mad at him forever. I swear every girl has that embedded into her DNA from the day she is born," Chloe joked.

Cameron laughed, "yeah, I think that's true." But before she could think of anything else, they had already arrived at the hospital, and she was pulling into her parking spot. They walked to the doors, and before they stepped in Cameron asked one last question, "do you know what you're going to say to him?"

"Haha, no." Chloe stepped through the big glass doors and made her way back to the conference room with Cameron right behind.


	18. Taking A Breather

Sooo, I've just now realized how short these chapters are. I'll try and fix that. Anyway, I hope you like the next intstallment. It's helpful if you actually let me know in review form. It makes me happy, which makes me write more, which makes you happy. Win-win. Anyway, I'm rambling again. Enjoy the show.

**Chapter 18- Taking A Breather **

A few minutes after Chloe had stormed out, Chase finally sat up, and made his way to one of the metal chairs surrounding the glass table. His head once again in his hands, he finally breathed a sullen "What have I done?"

"You screwed up." House had walked in at just the right moment to hear him speak.

Chase looked up and sighed. He couldn't really think of some witty comeback at a time like this.

House sat down in the seat directly next to the door. "Oh, don't worry, because it was endlessly entertaining. Although, I think you may have upset little Casey."

"It's Chloe." Chase was getting increasingly annoyed.

"Whatever. Maybe you should do some clinic hours, to get your mind of things?" House reached in his pocket and pulled out his Gameboy.

"I've already done all of my clinic for today."

"I wasn't talking about yours."

Chase stood up and made his way downstairs, at this point he was willing to do anything to get away from House, even if it meant doing his clinic hours.

"3 should do it!" House yelled, as Chase passed him on his way out.

The girls headed to the elevator as soon as they arrived.

"Ms. Keene, just the person I was looking for." Cuddy had spotted her and Cameron, just as they pushed the button. "I hear there have been some interesting things going on in the cafeteria today."

"Oh, Dr. Cuddy, I'm so sorry, I'm just about to take care of it, I promise," Chloe began.

"Cuddy, don't worry about it, a little hospital drama never hurt anyone." Cameron started to defend her.

Cuddy pursed her lips. "Even so, I don't want anything like that happening again. Maybe you should go home for the day, and start fresh tomorrow."

"Are you sure? There's a lot of paperwork left." Chloe was surprised at how lenient Cuddy was being.

"Yes, I'm sure. I think it would be better for everyone. And the paperwork can wait one more day, it's already waited for over a year. But please, have a talk with Chase, it's against hospital regs for relationships to get, shall we say... ostentatious?" Cuddy turned on her heels, and headed back to the clinic.

"Yeah, if anything gets more ostentatious than her clothes, then the world might come to an end," Cameron joked. Just then the elevator arrived, and the two girls stepped in and made their way to the Diagnostics Dept. Cameron spoke again, after the doors closed. "I think it is a good idea for you to go home, it'll give you an idea of what you want to say."

Chloe was watching the numbers light up as the elevator moved. "Or I might over think everything and stew some more. Besides, it's not like I'd be getting away from anything, I'd just be going back to Robert's apartment."

"Still, it'll probably be more peaceful than here, give it a try," Cameron suggested. They arrived at the right floor, and turned the corner towards the conference room.

Chloe stopped a second before they fully rounded it. She peeked over Cameron's shoulder to make sure that no one was in there, there wasn't. House was in his office, however. It was time for his soap.

Cameron saw the look on Chloe's face. "Don't worry, I'll distract him." She smiled, and headed into the office to talk to House.

Chloe grabbed her purse and headed out the door after a quick glance at Cameron, who smiled at her again. Hopefully, the advice she had gotten from them would be helpful, and would mend things between her and Chase.


	19. Kiss and Make Up II

Thanks for the reviews! Here's the next bit... are they speaking, are they not? is this the end, or just the beginning? Read and see!

Chapter 19- Now Kiss and Make Up

Chase arrived back at the conference room at about 4. He was definitely ready to go home. His thoughts about Chloe had been spinning around in his head since lunch, and he tried hard to not let them distract his from his duties. Luckily, all of the cases were easy enough to treat, so there weren't any complications. When he got back, he found Cameron in House's office, oddly enough watching a soap with him. He also noticed that Foreman was alone in the conference room, looking over some files, most likely searching for a new case. He opted for the office, and made his way in there. "Have any of you seen Chloe?"

"Yeah, she was crying and she ran out of the cafeteria, don't you remember?" House didn't even look up from his soap.

Cameron glared at House. "Cuddy sent her home. You should go and talk to her, trust me."

Chase muttered a quick "yeah," and headed out.

Chloe had been home for about an hour, and in an attempt to distract herself, found an old DVD to pop in. Halfway through the movie, she heard the door open, and her heart started racing at a million miles a minute. "Stay calm, you already know how to handle this," she repeated to herself in her head. She turned around and started to speak.

However, she didn't get to say a word... Chase came rushing in with a bouquet of flowers- a bright bunch of gerber daisies, her favorite. He took a seat next to her on the couch. "I'm so sorry Chloe, I don't know what came over me, I know you hate me right now." He spoke quickly and even though Chloe tried to respond, he would always cut her off. "No, really, I mean it, if you think I'm a huge jerk, I don't blame you. I wish I could take everything back, I would do anything. But please, you-"

Chloe put her fingers over his lips to silence him. "Robert, I wanted to stay mad at you forever. I always do. You know it never turns out like that in the end." Chase smiled and went in to kiss her, but Chloe wasn't finished. "No, no, I have conditions." Chase was confused, but let her continue. Secretly, she was just having a bit of fun... "One, you have to buy me dinner. Anywhere I want, whatever I want."

"Deal." Chase didn't really understand, but decided to indulge her anyway.

"Two, you have to apologize to Foreman."

Chase would not have any of that. "No, no way! He totally asked for that."

"He was just trying to be nice, you never actually introduced me as your girlfriend. Even if you knew his intentions weren't exactly... businesslike, you still shouldn't have turned it into a competition. I want you to apologize for acting childish. Maybe you two could even form a friendship, which would be much easier to deal with around the workplace than haughtiness. At least say something so that I don't feel suddenly awkward whenever I'm in the same room as the two of you, which will happen a lot."

Chase reluctantly gave in. "Fine... anything else?"

"Yes. One more thing. You have to remind me why I was mad in the first place." She smiled.

"Excuse me?"

Chloe laughed and leaned in to kiss him.

"Oh I get it..." Chase smiled too, and they kissed again, just like they had in the cafeteria that day... only much better.

"You make it impossible for me to stay mad at you," Chloe breathed.

Chase stood up and led her down the hall. "Can dinner wait until tomorrow night?"

"Definitely." Chloe followed, never breaking the kiss that led them all the way back to his bedroom.


	20. Chloe Wins, Again, and Again, and Again

The next bit! Sorry it's been a while, I've been busy lately. Anyway, thanks for the reviews, keep 'em coming!

Chapter 20- Chloe Wins, Again, and Again, and Again

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Chase hit the snooze on his alarm clock and rolled over in bed. He peeked one eye open and found Chloe stretching next to him, quite contentedly.

She turned to face him and opened her eyes as well. "What time is it?"

"5:48," He replied. "Do we really have to go to work today?"

Chloe smiled. "Yes. If we don't go in, everybody will know why."

Chase groaned. Chloe laughed at him. "What time do you usually get in to work?"

"Usually between 7:00 and 7:30." He glanced back at the clock and back to Chloe.

Her eyes widened. "Holy crap, you practically get to work before the sun comes up."

It was Chase's turn to laugh. "It's easier to work earlier, no one is around, and there is no way House would come in that early, either."

"I see. Well, by the looks of the clock, it is now 5:52, and you have a little more than an hour before you have to be at work." Chloe started to kick Chase out of the bed. "You get in the shower, and I'll go make you breakfast."

Chase took her by the arms and started to take her with him into the bathroom. "Are you sure you don't want to join me?"

Chloe broke loose of his grip. "As tempting as that sounds, I have to refuse. If I did, we'd never get out of here." Chase made a pouty face, but she wouldn't budge. She kissed him, and headed towards her own room.

She found a silky red robe with an oriental pattern that she had bought in a boutique while she was in New York and slipped it on. Then she pulled her hair back into a messy ponytail, and went into the kitchen.

Thirty minutes later, Chase entered the kitchen too. "Mmm, something smells good." He walked up behind Chloe and kissed her on the cheek.

"French toast." She picked up a plate that already had two slices on it. There's butter, syrup, and jam already on the table, your coffee, too.

Chase grabbed the plate and moved towards the dining room. "Well, you just thought of everything, didn't you?"

Chloe grabbed her own plate and followed him. "Of course I did. What would you do without me?"

The two sat at the table and began to eat. Chase devoured his first slice of toast before he finally spoke. "Aren't you going to work?"

"Of course I am. Just not at 7:30. I'll be there around 8:00, don't worry." She took a bite of her own breakfast. "Are you really wearing that tie with that shirt?"

Chase was shocked. "What's wrong with my tie?"

"Stand up, let me get a good look at you," Chloe directed.

Chase did as he was told. Chloe twirled her finger around, to show that she wanted him to spin, which he did. Chloe looked him up and down, carefully studying his outfit. "You've got a light blue shirt with dark blue and green stripes, black shoes, black belt, dark jeans, dark blue jacket... and then you've got this navy tie with a weird goldenrod paisley pattern. I don't think so." Chase surveyed himself after Chloe did. He had never took that much thought when he was deciding what to wear every day. He only thing that he was slightly concerned with was that his belt and shoes were the same color. Everything else didn't really matter. Chloe thought for a minute, then went ran down the hall. "Don't move, I'll be right back!" She yelled.

A second later, she reappeared with two ties in her hands; a green and blue striped one in her left hand, and a solid green one in her right. She held each one up to his shirt, and then extended her right hand. "Put this one on, trust me."

Chase put his hands on his hips and looked at the ties in front of him. Chloe waved her right hand in front of his face, insisting that he change. Finally, he gave in, and switched the paisley tie for the green one.

Chloe admired her work. "Much better." Then, she slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out something small and shiny. "Wear this, too."

Chase took it into his hands. "I haven't worn this in practically a year."

"Pleaaaase?" She whined. She slipped the silver ring onto his right pinky. "I find men who wear rings incredibly sexy... do it for me, please?" She looked up at him with puppy dog eyes, and he had to relent. She smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips before guiding him towards the front door. "Okay, now get to the hospital. It's my turn to get ready."

Chloe arrived to work at 8:16. When she got to the conference room, she found Chase doing a crossword and Foreman reading a medical journal. It looked like neither one had acknowledged the other was in the room. Chloe poked her head in the door. "Robert, can I see you for a minute?" He put down his crossword and went up to her. They walked a few steps down the hall, out of view of the conference room. "Did you talk to Foreman?" Chloe asked.

Chase had secretly been hoping she had forgot about that promise he made. "I was going to... eventually..."

Chloe took hold of both his hands. "Please do it, just knowing that I'll have to be in the same room as both of you at the same time... I just get this weird vibe."

For the third time today he surrendered to Chloe's wishes. "Alright, I'll do it. Go see Cameron in the lab or something for a few minutes."

She gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you, I'll be back in a bit."

Chase went back to the conference room after he saw Chloe turn the corner. He sat in his seat and continued his crossword, contemplating how to apologize to Foreman. He didn't know what to say, but he figured he may as well say something. "Foreman..."

"Yes?" He didn't even look up from his reading.

"About yesterday... sorry I was um, childish, and uh, territorial." He was twirling his pencil in his hands.

Foreman chuckled. "Hey, don't say that to me. As long as Chloe is okay, I don't have a problem." Chase didn't respond, so he kept going. "Guys do stupid stuff for girls, what you did was more stupid than average. Listen, to me, you have nothing to apologize for. Did you talk to Chloe?"

"Yes, she said that I had to apologize to you before she would fully forgive me."

"I see," Foreman paused. "Well you did try to embarrass me in front of the entire cafeteria, now that I think about it."

"I was jealous, I really care about her," Chase really didn't want to start an argument with him.

"Obviously. Well, if you care about her enough to swallow your pride and apologize to me, then I accept your apology."

"Really?" Chase was taken back.

"Sure."

"Okay. Cool, thanks."

"I'm going to do my clinic duty for today. Maybe I'll find us a case. You should go find Chloe and tell her that you're all set to be fully forgiven." Foreman closed the journal and headed out the door.

"I'll do that."


	21. Discovery

Sorry I've been delayed on the updates. School had just started, so I'm very busy. Anyway... I hope you like this chapter, it's kind of a filler, but I'm thinking of finishing it all up in the next (just to be safe) 10 chapters or so. I know, it's sad, it's kind of dwindling down. But I do want to do a sequel, so maybe I can churn out those 5 chapters in a couple of months (I know it sounds bad, but I do have school work and my job to attend to). Then, it will be thanksgiving break or something, and I'll have time to set up a nice expositon for a sequel. I also have another fic idea brewing in my head... sigh what a time for me to get inspired! But, here I am, rambling again. Go ahead and read... then you know... REVIEW!

**Chapter 21- Discovery **

"That looks interesting." Chloe entered the lab to find Cameron running gels in an attempt to occupy herself.

"Fascinating, really." Cameron looked up from her microscope. "Are you really here to watch me run monotonous tests?"

Chloe picked up one of the test tubes on the tray next to Cameron. "Nope, checking out the equipment." Cameron raised an eyebrow, Chloe replaced the test tube. "Giving Robert some privacy while he apologizes to Foreman."

Cameron's mouth twisted into a suspicious smile. "Apologizing? To Foreman? What!"

"I've applied a series of conditions to my forgiving him. This is one of them."

The machine near Cameron beeped but she ignored it, opting to question Chloe further. "What are the other conditions?"

Chloe smirked. "There were three. Expensive dinner, apologize to Foreman, and... well we already took care of the third one last night."

Cameron turned back to the computer to check the test results. "I see." Her tone hinted that what Chloe had just admitted was a bit of an overshare. "Well, about that dinner, you should make him take you to Il Giardino. It's pretty much the most expensive place in Princeton. Unless you want to make the exceedingly long drive up to New York."

Chloe laughed at Cameron's reaction. "I don't know about New York, but I do think the boys have had enough time to play, what do you say we ditch this pop stand and head back to the conference room."

Cameron closed the program she was using to test the leftover samples. "That sounds like a plan."

The girls entered the room laughing like they had been friends forever. House also entered from his office. "I thought the rule was: no swapping embarrassing stories about other people unless I was around."

The girls stifled themselves a bit and each took a seat. Chloe at her desk, and Cameron at the glass table.

House continued. "Well, unless you two have anything else you'd like to share, I'm going to the clinic."

All of the ducklings immediately sat up. "Wait, you're going to the clinic? On your own free will?" Foreman asked.

House popped 2 Vicodin. "Only out of desperation. The cases you've been bringing me have been so boring, I have no choice. Also, I hear a bunch of the girls at Hooters suddenly got food poisoning." With that, he limped on his way. Foreman and Chase snickered and Cameron and Chloe rolled their eyes.

Chloe reached down into the box of files and picked out one at random. "This is going to be fun," she sighed.

Cameron smiled empathetically. "Hey, we don't have a case, why don't I help you with all that? It's not like I've never done it before."

"Really? That would be great!" Chloe took a few more files from the box, and carried them to the glass table. She sat down in the empty seat and began to work.

Suddenly, Foreman's beeper went off. He took it out of its holder on his hip and read. "I'll see you guys later. Cuddy's calling me for a consult in the Clinic."

Chase took a newspaper out of his bag and flipped to the crossword.

After a few more minutes of writing, Chloe decided to start another conversation. "So, is it always this exciting around here?"

Cameron smiled. "No, sometimes I get the consult."

Chloe giggled. "No really, I've heard about insane cases that no one else has been able to solve, save for the infamous Dr. House and his team."

Chase looked up from his paper. "So we're just, 'his team'?"

"I'd rather not be directly associated with a sociopathic, manipulative-" Cameron was cut off.

"Is he really like that? Incessantly rude, to everyone? Even to his patients?" Chloe asked.

"What little he sees of them." Chase went back to his crossword. "How do you hear about him?"

"I still have some interest in medicine," Chloe admitted. "It's kind of hard not to hear about his unconventional methods."

"How do you go from the top of your class at UNC, to filling out old paperwork?" Cameron wondered aloud.

Chloe decided to open up. "I graduated number 1 in my class from UNC in 2001. I was only 21. You can imagine, I had no life. I spent all of my spare time taking on extra classes, doing extra work, I just wanted to practice so badly, I sacrificed everything for it. I went to grad school for about a year, and then, my mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer that had metastasized to her liver and kidneys. There was nothing they could do. By the end of that first year, she had passed away. I felt like I was so selfish, spending all my time at school and none with my mom. It had just been me and her since I was 6. My dad died in a car accident. After I realized I couldn't do anything, I kind of just crawled in a hole and that was it. I decided that I needed a new life. So I got a new apartment and quit school. I had a few different jobs and such. Then about 8 months later I found Robert. The rest, is history."

"Wow, Chloe I had no idea. I'm so sorry." Cameron began to wonder if she should've asked in the first place.

"Hey, don't be, it's not your fault. It's in the past and I'm here now. I'm fine with it all. For now, at least." Chloe returned to the files in front of her.

Cameron sighed and went back to work as well. Chase, however, watched Chloe for a while. He also had no idea of the traumas in her past. As close as they were, they had never quite opened up to each other as much as other couples usually do. They had only been together a short time in Charlotte, and Chase attributed their lack of communication to the time limit. He would have to delve deeper, perhaps at dinner that night.

The rest of the morning went by smoothly. Foreman took on a rotation in the Neuro dept., so he was busy. It turns out House had lost a bet to Wilson, and was stuck in clinic all day long. Eventually Chase completed his crossword and was weaseled into joining the paperwork party with Chloe and Cameron. As the three were deciding what to do about lunch, Foreman walked in surprisingly, with a large cheese pizza to share with everyone. They all spent the rest of the day joking, chatting and filling out papers (except for Foreman of course, who went back to the Neuro dept. after about an hour).

At five, all of the ducklings and Chloe were getting ready to leave. As Cameron was hanging up her lab coat, she sighed and turned to Chloe. "I am so glad that Cuddy hired you. I was getting a little sick of being the only girl around. Now I finally have someone to talk with during boring days like this, instead of running gels or answering House's mail."

Chloe smiled. "That's so sweet! I'm glad I got to work here, it would be horrible to be in some cubicle all day filing and initialing papers all by myself until my arm fell off."

"You should come over and have ice cream and girl talk with me. It'll be fun," Cameron invited.

"I would," Chloe started, but then she took hold of Chase's hand. "But Chase owes me dinner tonight. Maybe some other time, I'd really like to."

"Okay, we'll talk tomorrow. But I'll see you guys later, bye!" Cameron grabbed her purse and left the conference room.

Chase made his way to the door and opened it for her. "Ah, the third condition. Well, do you want to go now, or do I need to rent a tux for this one?"

Chloe walked out, followed by Chase. She thought for a moment, and then decided to take Cameron's suggestion. "Let's go home and you can reserve us a table at Il Giardino."

"Il Giardino? You are certainly milking this for all it's worth," Chase concluded.

"Would you expect anything else?" She replied.


	22. Dinnertime

As soon as Chase and Chloe got home, Chloe collapsed onto the huge living room sofa. "Who knew paperwork could be so tiring?"

Chase flopped down right on top of her and pretended to fall asleep.

"Haha, very funny, but there's no way you're getting out of this one."

Chase didn't budge, he just snuggled in deeper.

"Robert if you don't get up so help me I will steal your wallet and not only buy and obscenely expensive dinner, but I will also treat myself to an entirely new wardrobe. Maybe I'll even bring Cameron along, too," Chloe threatened.

Chase groaned and finally sat up. "Il Giardino, reservations for two. Got it."

Chloe grinned triumphantly and kissed Chase on the cheek. "Make the reservations for say... 7:30? I need time to get ready."

While Chloe was taking her time (as all girls do), Chase decided to opt for the simple shower & shave routine. Although he did blow-dry his hair, as well. He chose his favorite formal suit, all black, very sleek, and very good-looking. Even though it was summer, he thought it looked the best on him, and he wanted to look his best for Chloe. He was ready in about 40 minutes, so he flipped on the TV and waited while Chloe finished up.

Chloe showered, and did her hair up in a classic chignon. "Very Audrey Hepburn," she thought. Her makeup was very simple; gold eyeshadow, an extra coat of black mascara, shimmery peach cheeks, and sweet pink lip gloss. She wore an elegant tennis bracelet that once belonged to her mother, and a pair of small gold hoops. Her shoes were shiny gold high heels. The dress, however, was the scene-stealer. If there was one thing she loved about New York, it was the clothes. (Maybe that's why she had gone practically broke before she knew it...?) It was her very favorite NY purchase, and she couldn't wait to use it. It was one of the reasons for her fancy dinner request. It was a knee-length, sunny yellow cocktail dress, and really brought out the gold in Chloe's eyes. There were gold sequins scattered on it, and there was a ribbon around the waist.

She struggled to zip up the dress herself. If she was going to make an entrance, she was going to do it right. After employing the use of some tweezers for extra that extra inch, she finally got it on. She spritzed herself with her signature lavender perfume, and was ready. At exactly 7:00 she threw her compact, lip gloss, cellphone, and wallet in to a smaller gold clutch and stepped into the living room.

Chase was alerted by the 'click-click-click' of Chloe's heels as she entered. He turned off the television, stood up, and turned around to see her. "Are you- ?" he couldn't finish his sentence. He was floored.

"Am I what?"

"Um, I, I forgot." He was still distracted by her appearance, and suddenly very glad that she had coerced him into agreeing to the dinner. She looked absolutely beautiful, he couldn't understand how he had survived 3 years without her there with him. To him, Chloe looked like an angel, for lack of a better description. He couldn't believe that she was really there, standing in front of him, and that she loved him, that she was his.

Chloe giggled and snapped him back to reality. "Come on then, we're going to be late." She smiled at him, and walked towards the door.

"Right." Chase was still mesmerized, and hoped he would be able to drive precisely with her in the car.

Luckily, after a few minutes of driving, Chase regained his ability to speak. "How did you hear about the restaurant?"

"Cameron told me about it when we were in the lab this morning," Chloe responded.

"What else did you talk about?" He pried.

"Not much, about how I wanted you to apologize to Foreman, and some other girl stuff. We weren't in there that long." However, she didn't want to spend the whole night talking about other people. Fortunately, they arrived at the restaurant.

Chase parked the car and both of them were about to get out. "No, no, let me get that." He wanted to make sure he was a complete gentleman that evening. He opened the door for her and helped her out of the car. He also offered her his arm, and she took it as he led the way to the building.

Chloe had also noticed how Chase looked all dressed up. "You look really great tonight."

"Oh, thank you." Chase gave himself a mental slap in the face. He was so speechless that he had forgotten to compliment her. "You look gorgeous. Stunning, really."

Chloe blushed. "Thank you."

They were seated at a table for two on the patio. Chloe was glad about that, it was just them, in an extremely romantic setting. It was a warm summer night with a comfortable cool breeze. There were flowers everywhere, and the tables each had a small centerpiece of candles in a bed of roses. There was more light coming from a few gas lamps strategically placed around the perimeter. She couldn't think of a more perfect place to spend time with Chase. "This place is amazing."

"I've never been here before. I'm glad you chose it." Before Chase and a chance to continue, the waiter arrived.

"Good evening, my name is Brandon, and I'll be your server this evening. Are you ready to order some beverages?"

Chase scanned the wine list, then he glanced back at Chloe who was doing the same. "How about... a bottle of champagne?"

Chloe looked up. "Champagne? Robert, the cheapest bottle on here is $85. It's not like we're celebrating anything, you don't have to-"

"Don't worry about it. Tonight is special. Besides, I haven't bought anything quite so impressive in a while." He smiled and turned to the waiter. "We'll take the best you have."

The waiter took the wine lists and bowed out. "Yes, sir."

Chloe was still awestruck. "Robert, they sell Cristal here... it costs nearly $200 a bottle."

Chase shrugged his shoulders. "I just won't make any bets with House for a while. You said fancy dinner, now let me spoil you, just for tonight?"

It was Chloe's turn to give in. She uncrossed and re-crossed her legs, and started to peruse the menu. Secretly, she didn't mind so much that Chase was so eager to indulge her.

The waiter returned a few minutes after with a basket of garlic bread, and the champagne. Chloe applauded when he popped open the bottle and poured the bubbly liquid into 2 glass flutes. He placed the bottle in a silver basin full of ice, and then took their orders. Chase kept it simple with the veal marsala, but Chloe was feeling a bit more adventurous, and requested the roast duck.

When the waiter left, Chase raised his glass to toast. "To the beautiful Miss Chloe Keene, who's skillful negotiation allowed us to come here tonight, and who's pleasantly infectious vivacious personality allowed me to make a complete fool of myself, and to be thankful for it in the end."

Chloe laughed, and before they could complete the toast, she added a few statements herself. "And, to the handsome Dr. Robert Chase, who is willing to kiss the right way, for the wrong reasons, and who's impeccable charm has never allowed me to stay irritated long enough about it to do any serious damage."

They clinked their glasses together and each took a taste of the expensive brew. Chloe looked at it once again, after she had taken her sip. "Do you think this is worth $200?"

"I think all of this right here is worth two million."


	23. Two Stories

"So, tell me about you." Chase had just set down his glass after thoughtfully toasting to Chloe.

"Me? You know me." Chloe didn't really know what he meant.

"Not necessarily, what you said earlier today, about college and your mom, I never knew that before." He admitted.

"Oh, that." Chloe was worried that she would have to delve deeper into her past, but had put that thought behind her as they arrived at the restaurant. "What do you want to know?"

"Start at the beginning. Tell me anything you want to." Chase wanted to really understand Chloe. "Technically, we've only been together for a few weeks, with a very, very long break in the middle. I guess this is the time we start do really get to know each other."

"I guess so. Well what, you want to know about my parents or something?" Chase nodded, so Chloe continued. "Well, my parents met when they were in the 9th grade. They started dating in the 10th grade, and they were completely in love ever since. As soon as they graduated high school, they got married. They didn't have a lot of money, so they both attended a junior college. The year after they graduated from college, they had me." Chloe paused to take a drink. Chase was listening attentively, pausing periodically to take sips of his champagne, as well. "When I was 6, my dad died. He had a really bad heart attack, and by the time he got to the hospital, there was nothing they could do. He had been deprived of oxygen too long. I was young so I didn't really understand what was going on. My mom said that he went away, and he wouldn't be able to come back."

At that moment, the waiter arrived to check on his table. "May I get you anything?"

"No, we're fine," Chase responded. He turned back to Chloe, who was looking a bit unsure of herself. "Go on," he urged.

She hesitated a bit, but then she decided that if she was going to let anyone know about her past, it was Chase. "I was mad at her. I thought she was the one who sent him away. Fortunately, as I got older, around 11 or so, I was able to comprehend the situation, and then my mother and I were able to get really close. We were all each other had. She swore the cliché 'I'll never love again,' and she actually kept that promise. But, for that I was able to get mad at somebody else; the doctors. I didn't know why they couldn't save my dad. I wanted to become one, and prove to them that I could just be so much better than they ever were. I wanted to be a doctor ever since then. I became a workaholic when I started high school, taking the most advanced courses and always doing extra credit, things like that. I even took college courses over the summer and a few after regular school hours. When I went to UNC for my undergrad, I was able to graduate early. Then I had been in grad school for about 1 year, when my mother was diagnosed. You know the rest after that. I lost my esteem for doctors, there I was, without either of my parents because of some medical condition."

"Wow. I had no idea." Chase was both glad that he now knew Chloe on a more personal level, and sad that he made her re-live that part of her life.

"No, I'm happy that I told you. I think it's important for you to know." Chloe could see that he was reprimanding himself. "Tell me about you."

He knew that this was coming. Partly, he had been deciding what to say in his head before she had even asked. Well right now, it was all or nothing. "When I was 12, I noticed that my parents weren't acting very... parental. Father would stay at the hospital late into the night, and my mother would have an extra drink while he was away. I tried to ignore it, so I turned to the only thing I had, my faith. By the time I was 15, it was official, my father left me to care for my mother who had become a full blown alcoholic. I knew I wouldn't be able to care for her, I tried what I could, but a year later she died. Then, my only option was foster care, catholic foster care. God was the only thing I had, so when I was 18, I decided to join a seminary school."

"You wanted to be a priest?" Chloe interrupted.

"Yeah, I felt like it was the only thing I could do. But after a couple of months, I was... plagued with thoughts of my father, so I dropped out and went to medical school. Then of course, you know that my father was too much of an influence on my career, so I came to the states."

They were silent for a moment, each sipping their champagne nervously. Chase went to pour them each another glass, and Chloe finally thought of something to say. "I guess that's partly why we were attracted to each other."

"What do you mean?" Chase placed the bottle back into it's container of ice.

"We both had someone to run away with."

The waiter had arrived with their dishes. "Please enjoy, and let me know if I can get you anything."

They both acknowledged him with a small nod, and then went to taste their meals.

"How did this go from champagne and candlelight to a relatively uncomfortable situation?" Chloe asked.

Chase took a bite of his veal, mostly to provide himself time to come up with an answer. "This is pretty serious stuff. I think it means that are relationship is getting... serious."

"So, this is a good thing?"

"I guess it is, yeah. But let's not talk about anything like that for now. How's your duck?"

Two empty plates and an entire bottle of Cristal later, the two were giggling (well, mostly Chloe), all the way to the parking lot.

"No, I totally beat you on that one! Trust me, at least 9 cups of coffee in 6 hours, cramming for my bio final." Chloe reeked of alcohol, and Chase was holding her up as she swayed into the passenger seat.

He traveled around the hood of the car, and plopped down next to her. "I think it's time for us to go home." Chase started the car, and headed in that direction.

After they left the parking lot, Chloe, with her champagne breath and slurred speech, spoke up. "Can I call you Chase?"

Chase laughed at her request. "What? Why?"

"Everyone at work calls you Chase."

"It's a professional thing."

"Yeah, but it's also so much sexier."

Chase doubted that Chloe would remember this conversation in the morning, so he decided to indulge her. "Sure, you can call me Chase."

The two arrived home, and Chase practically had to carry her in the door. However, Chloe protested. "No, I can walk, I promise." She swerved all the way to the couch, and Chase was close behind to make sure she didn't fall over in the process. "That was a nice restaurant, but there was one thing missing."

Chase pulled her close to him. "What's that?"

"Wait here." Chloe got up, and went into her bedroom, almost walking into the door frame on the way there. She returned, with a CD, and with a reasonable level of difficulty, placed it into the stereo. She pressed play, and selected a song. When the music started to play, she went over to Chase and grabbed him up off the couch. "No dancing."

He wrapped his arms around her, and they swayed gently along with the music.

_It's not the pale moon that excites me_

_That thrills and delights me_

_Oh no_

_It's just the nearness of you_

_It isn't your sweet conversation_

_That brings this sensation_

_Oh no_

_It's just the nearness of you_

_When you're in my arms and I feel you so close to me_

_All my wildest dreams came true_

_I need no soft lights to enchant me_

_If you would only grant me the right_

_to hold you ever so tight_

_And to feel in the night_

_The nearness of you_

By the end of the song, Chase tried to lift her head up to kiss her, but had discovered that she had fallen asleep in his arms. He smiled, picked her up, and moved towards the bedroom. After laying her in the bed and changing out of his suit, he contemplated changing Chloe out of her dress. He decided against it, he didn't want to wake her. He got into bed and snuggled right up next to her, putting his head right over her heart, and his arm around her waist. Finally he drifted into the most comfortable and enjoyable sleep he had ever experienced.


	24. Good Morning, Starshine

Chase woke up with his usual prospect of getting to work extremely early. He left Chloe to sleep a little while longer, knowing that she would NOT be a happy camper when it was her turn to awaken. After showering, eating breakfast, and packing his bag, he decided that it was finally Chloe's turn to get ready. He crept into the bedroom with glass of water and kissed her on the forehead. "Chloe..." She didn't stir, so he nudged her gently. "Chloe, you need to wake up."

Chloe tried to open her eyes, but the sun was steaming in from the window, and at this moment, light was a very bad thing. She groaned and her hand flew to cover her eyes. Chase got up to close the curtains and then returned to the bed. "I know you feel like crap right now, but it really is time to go to work. Have some water."

Her eyes still closed, she reached out for the glass and drank about half of it down. She didn't realize how thirsty she was. She extended the glass in Chase's direction and he took it, setting it on the bedside table. Chloe peeked her eyes halfway open. The darkness made her feel more comfortable keeping them that way. She looked at Chase, who was all ready for work. "What time is it?"

"6:45," he replied.

She tried to sit up, when she discovered her head weighed about a ton. "Let me stay home." She settled herself in bed, and prepared to go back to sleep.

"Oh, no. You need to get in the shower." He tried to make her sit up.

She resisted his attempts, and just turned away from him. "No."

"Yes."

"In a minute."

"I'm not leaving until you get up."

"I will, go wait for me in the living room or something."

"Go get in the bathroom."

Slowly, Chloe rose out of bed. "Yes, dad," she drawled as she walked into the bathroom, and turned on the shower.

Chase stood in the door, while Chloe waited for the water to get warm. "Do you want me to stay so you won't have to drive to work?" Chloe nodded and turned around so Chase could unzip the dress that she was still wearing from last night. She stepped out of it and handed it to him. He threw it on the bed. "What do you want to eat?"

Chloe searched the drawers for toothpaste. "Nothing."

Chase opened a drawer on her right, and left to cook the breakfast that she didn't want.

Chloe made it into the kitchen, her hair in a bun (from not wanting to take the time to dry her hair), and a pair of sunglasses over her eyes. She sat at the table and Chase placed a plate of scrambled eggs in front of her. She salted and picked at them, while Chase watched her. "How do you feel?"

"It's bright, and there's a drummer inside my head."

Chase hated to see Chloe hurting, but there really wasn't anything he could do. "Eat first, then you can take something for your head." He paused while she took a few tiny bites. "Do you remember any of last night?"

"Bits and pieces." She swallowed. "If you're asking if I remember what we talked about, then yes. If you're asking if I remember how I got into bed, then no."

Chase smiled. Chloe managed to eat half of her food, and pushed the plate away.

Chase took the plate to the sink, and then returned to the table. "Well, we should go now, do you need anything?"

"Let me get my purse." She headed towards her bedroom.

"Do you want something for your head?" He called to her.

She turned around and nodded before finally walking down the hall. Chase made a quick trip to the medicine cabinet and grabbed a bottle of Advil. After popping two into his hands, he slipped the bottle into his bag for her later. She returned and he handed her the pills. She swallowed them dry, ("Just like House," he thought) and he led her to the door.

The ride to work was mainly silent, Chloe tried to fall back asleep, but found it hard to do with the sun shining all over the place. She spotted a gas station and perked up a bit. She pointed in its direction and gasped, "Red Bull." Chase laughed and pulled in, picking up a four-pack for her. Finally they made it to work at about 8:30.

Chloe was working on her second can by the time they entered the conference room. She set the remaining beverages on her desk, and sat down at the glass table. Foreman and Cameron were already in the conference room, looking over some files for their next case. Chase went to make himself some tea, and seated himself next to Chloe. "Find anything?"

Foreman sighed. "Nothing that could interest House."

"We've only been looking for a little while," said Cameron, as she flipped through some papers. "Grab a file, maybe we'll have something to do by the time he gets here."

"Yay, more files..." muttered Chloe, who had reached over to the box at her desk, and began to work.

Cameron raised an eyebrow. "You don't look so hot."

Foreman laughed. "She's hungover." He turned to Chloe. "Aren't you?"

"I'm only wearing these sunglasses and chugging Red Bull because it makes me look so much cooler," she snapped.

"You'd better watch out, Chase, she's starting to sound like House," Cameron joked.

"Yes, but she's much prettier to look at," he retorted.

House limped in at his usual 10 something. "So, how much fun have you got planned for today?"

He was about to deliver an amazing snark, when he was interrupted by Cameron, who had discovered an interesting patient. "A woman who can't control herself."

House scoffed. "Is that unusual?"

Both Chloe and Cameron glared at him. She continued, "Forty-two year old female, with a sudden acute interest in..." She trailed off.

"What?" Chase wondered aloud. He peered over and unsuccessfully attempted to read the file.

"Sex," was her only reply.

"This case seems to be calling my name," House said, going over to Cameron and reading over her shoulder. "Where is she?"

"She lives in Trenton, but they could transfer her over." Cameron paused. "If she suddenly developed an interest in anything else, would you even give her file a second glance?"

"Of course," House countered. "I'd also accept monster trucks, poker, motorcycles, and power tools. But, why don't you work on getting her over here, so we can figure out what's going on with her, and how we can spread it to many other women."

They guys laughed, the girls glared, and House went into his office.


	25. Questionable Conversations

Since the team had found a case, Chloe hadn't really seen a lot of Chase all day. She probably shouldn't have expected to, she was working after all. But because she had been feeling so lousy, being with him was the only thing that would make her feel even a little bit better. Sometimes the team would gather in the conference room for the ddx, but even then she couldn't talk to him. The 3 would throw out suggestions and then House would send them out to test for them. Occasionally an individual duckling would venture in with a file or an update, but then they would rush away with another order from House.

Chloe did get to see him for lunch, if it could even be called that. More like a cup of coffee in the cafeteria. She didn't want to eat anything and then Chase didn't really have time to. After polishing off a quick cup, a parting glance and a kiss on the cheek later he was gone, and Chloe was still stirring in her sugar. She returned to her desk and dived back in to the pile of paperwork provided by Cuddy. She was so happy when the clock finally struck 5. As if on cue, Chase arrived back to the conference room, just as ready to head home as she was.

Chloe threw her bag on the table, and collapsed on the huge, soft couch. "Today has been the longest day of my life."

Chase closed the door behind them and came into the living room to sit with Chloe. "Do you still feel as bad as you did this morning?"

Chloe sighed. "Not so much anymore, it just got really monotonous filling out the same paperwork over and over again. And now House as a nice big stack of papers to sign. I'm sure he's just stuck them in a drawer somewhere and all of my hard work will have been for nothing." Chase scooted closer to Chloe and she leaned on him. Suddenly she felt much better than she had all day.

"You could sign them you know," Chase suggested, "Cuddy won't care."

Chloe adjusted herself so that she could see Chase's face a little better. "Yeah, I know, she'd would probably just look the other way for it, but I'm not willing to put my neck out on the line like that for him. Forging is a federal offense, and I'm sure the government checks up on those files for security or financial reasons or something."

"I guess so. But don't worry about House. You've done your job, and now those files are his problem once again." Chase held her a little tighter to make her feel more comfortable. "It's not so much fun being stuck in a lab running tests all day either. Cameron's doing most of the direct work with the patient and I get to sit in front of a screen all day."

"I guess we're both stuck doing House's bitchwork." Chloe laughed. She stretched a little then cuddled closer to Chase. "I feel so nice right now, sitting here with you. Can we just stay like this forever?" She closed her eyes.

"Yes, please," Chase agreed, and they both drifted asleep together.

A couple hours later, Chase woke up, alone on the couch. He looked around for Chloe a bit before heading into the kitchen. He hoped she would be cooking dinner there, but sadly he had no luck. Then, he though he heard a voice coming from the spare bedroom she had once stayed in. He walked down the hall and found the voice growing louder as he approached the door. A few steps down, he could actually make out the words that she was saying. It seemed she was on the phone as there were frequent pauses in her speech.

"Not yet." Pause. "Well, not completely, I'm... getting closer." Pause. "I know it's been a long time, but things have been busy."

Chase wondered if he should be eavesdropping on Chloe like he was, but he just couldn't help himself. He pressed his ear up against the door.

"It's been different than expected." Pause. "I'm trying to move as fast as I can! It's not like I don't have incentive. It's a lot of money, and the bank's going to be on my butt soon." Pause. "Of course it's Robert, why else would it be taking so long?"

Chase's stomach flipped at the mention of his name. What does Chloe need money for?

"No! I can't tell him, are you insane?!" Pause. "Sorry, it's just... I've worked so hard to get where I am. Telling him would just make everything pointless."

Chase's heart was racing. What could she be hiding?

"I haven't exactly figured out how to tell him, either." The way she said 'him' hinted that perhaps she was talking about another man. "I'd like to just bust out and brilliantly save the day, but I haven't had the chance to yet." Pause. "I know. Thanks." Pause. "When I do, you'll be the first to know, I promise." Pause. "Bye Banana."

What was that about? What does Chloe need to save? Chase's mind was running a million miles a minute when suddenly he heard footsteps. His thoughts would have to wait while he tiptoed down the hall as quickly as he could. Chloe was heading towards the door. He took a deep breath and then turned to walk back towards the door as nonchalantly as possible.

Just as he was halfway back, Chloe opened the door, looking frustrated. She looked up and saw Chase moving her way. "Oh, hey."

Chase was hyper aware of his facial expressions, he tried to look as unsuspecting as he could. "There you are, I was wondering where you ran off to."

"Just changing into something more comfortable." She tried to brush off her uneasy feelings.

Chase noticed that she was wearing a pair of shorts and a tank. "I guess you wouldn't want to go out to eat then?"

"No, it's fine. I think we should stay in, if that's alright with you," she replied.

"It sounds good to me. I guess I'll change too," He headed towards his bedroom while Chloe moved in the other direction.

"I'll find something to cook, how about that?" Chloe turned to see his reaction.

"Okay," was his only reply.

"Okay." Chloe went to the kitchen.

Chase swiftly changed into jeans and a T-shirt, then headed back to the kitchen. Should he ask Chloe about the conversation he heard? He may as well, what was the worst she could say? "I thought I heard you talking in there."

Crap. Chloe had hoped that he didn't hear her. "It was just Anna, I haven't talked to her in a while, and I promised I'd call her. I just had a spare second after our nap."

"Oh, really? How is she?" He pried.

"She's good. Oh, I didn't tell you, she and Ethan had a baby. A girl, Sasha." She tried to change the subject.

"Wow, that's great." Good news, but not exactly what he wanted to talk about. He redirected the conversation. "What did you talk about?"

Chloe opened the refrigerator and scanned the contents. She couldn't exactly look at him. Should she lie? She knew she couldn't tell him the truth. "Same old stuff, I talked to her Friday before I got here, so basically about our week." She tried again to change the subject. "Crazy that I've only been here one week, isn't it?"

"It is. Seems like much longer." Damn. He could sense that Chloe didn't want to talk. Too bad she wasn't drunk tonight instead of last night. BAD CHASE! He couldn't believe what he was thinking. He decided that he should get his mind off of what he heard. No matter how much it worried him.

Finally Chloe emerged from the refrigerator with a few ingredients: chicken, onions, a red pepper, a couple of other things. "Go relax or something, I'll cook dinner."

"You sure? I can help if you'd like." Was she just trying to avoid him now?

"I'm sure." She thought the cooking would help take her mind off of her current worries. "I want to surprise you with something good."

"Alright." What else could she possibly surprise him with today?

He watched TV while she cooked. An old James Bond movie was on, so at least that could keep him interested for a while. When the movie was over, Chloe entered the living room with a tray in her hands, it held two plates of food and two glasses of water. "Chicken tetrazzini. One of my favorites." She set the tray on the table and handed him his plate.

Chase immediately took a bite, which was a mistake. Chloe tried to warn him, "Be careful! It's–"

"Oww!" Chase yelled. Chloe laughed. "Turn towards me." He did. His mouth was open and he was still trying to decide between spitting out the food, or swallowing and risking burning his esophagus. Chloe luckily helped by blowing cool air in his mouth. Finally he could chew properly. "Thank you."

"Very smart thinking, Dr. Chase." Putting emphasis on the word 'doctor', Chloe handed him his glass of ice water and laughed again.

He took a drink. "I've made worse mistakes." He was very embarrassed.

Chloe didn't really realize how serious he was being. "I'm pretty sure the TV is frying your brain," she joked. "What's on, anyway?"

Chase prepared to take another bite, except he took the time to cool off his food beforehand. "You just missed James Bond," he said in between blows.

"Aww, bad timing." Chloe took a bite of her own food. "Wow! That is hot!" She chewed quickly and swallowed.

"Now who's a smart girl?" Chase retorted.

"Haha, very funny." She stuck her tongue out at him and stole the remote. "Let's see what else is on, shall we?"

"We shall." Chase was too busy eating to care what was on TV. He was also contemplating incorporating the phone call back into the conversation.

Too late. Chloe had already found another movie on TV. "How cute, Stuart Little is on."

He decided against it, she was in a reasonably better mood than she had been in all day. It would be a bad idea to ruin that. There was always tomorrow.

They watched and ate in silence. Every now and then one of them would offhandedly comment or laugh at a funny moment.

"The dad reminds me of House a little bit." Chloe said after her dinner was done.

"Is it his general facetiousness or blunt disregard for others' feelings that got you?" Chase remarked.

"No, not his personality. God, not that. But they way he looks. If we could ever get House to shave and put on a sweater vest or a bow tie, maybe comb his hair and wear some glasses, then you wouldn't be able to tell them apart," she mused.

"Okay, I'll hold him down, you shave him," Chase teased.

Chloe burst out laughing. "No fair! You can get the sweater vest on, then."

Chase was snickering as well. "Why are we even discussing this?"

Chloe was finally able to catch her breath from laughing so hard. "I don't know. I think we've gone crazy."

"I think we have too." He concluded.

Chloe gathered the plates and glasses back on the tray. "Could you imagine? Wrestling House to the ground and making him dress up like a prep school student?"

"I don't know if the wrestling House or the prep school getup is the more unrealistic scenario."

"Me either." Chloe took the tray to the kitchen and set the dishes in the sink, wondering if she should go ahead and wash them or not. She opted for the latter, they would still be there tomorrow, when she wasn't quite as tired. She ventured back into the living room. "What time is it?"

"Almost ten," he answered.

"I'm going to bed," she announced. "Thank god it's Friday tomorrow."

Chase turned off the TV. "I'll come too."

"I'd suggest it, seeing that you're probably going to wake up at 3am anyway." She headed towards the master bedroom.

"Hey, I wake up at 5. That's not so bad," he defended.

"It is for me. I prefer to be woken up naturally, by the sunrise." Her words were very flowy, as if she were on a commercial advertising waking up with the sun. She crawled into bed and curled up under the covers.

Chase changed into a pair of pajama pants to sleep in and got in after her. "I think you prefer to stay in bed until the hours of the day get into double digits."

"I need my beauty sleep!" She justified.

Chase wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "No you don't."

Chloe blushed and kissed him goodnight. Once again they fell into a deep sleep.


	26. Crazy, Crazy for Being so Lonely

Chase could feel his day getting progressively worse. First, there had been no new advances on the case. Test after test just repeatedly confirmed Alzheimer's. House of course wouldn't buy it, and the team was forced to subject to his whims.

Chloe wasn't having much luck either. She finally became fed up with her desk and took a break to rearrange EVERYTHING. The office in the corner near House's office was no longer public domain. While everyone was away with the patient, she switched around books and various office supplies. She found a maintenance guy to help her get rid of the old desk, and finally she had space.

Five o'clock couldn't have come sooner for either of them. After a week of hard work, everyone would have some breathing time. Right when Chloe was about to walk out the door behind Chase, Cameron asked, "Chloe, would you like to do something tonight?"

Chloe spun on her heels. "I don't know. Chase?"

Chase walked back into the conference room. "Go on, go do your girl thing. I'll find something to do."

Chloe smiled. "Great. Well I'll wait up for Cam, and I'll see you later tonight." She kissed him goodbye, and Chase was on his way. Turning back to Cameron she said, "Well, what did you have in mind?"

"Well, what do you say we grab a pizza and rent some old movies? Something besides the same old Friday night bar routine." She suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea to me," Chloe agreed.

Their plan was set, and the two were off, contemplating movie titles and pizza toppings the along the way.

Chase was home alone. For the first time in a long time. What could he do? Probably the same thing he usually did before Chloe came back into his life, make something quick to eat and watch TV, sometimes he would his email or play a computer card game. Was his life really this boring without her? He hoped not. There was always bar-hopping, trying to pick up girls using cheesy Australian stories. Three years of that and nothing. Maybe he could go back to the hospital and find some work to do. No. That was even more desperate than just watching TV. Tonight, his life would just have to be sad.

"Okay, what next? Even after Sixteen Candles and the Princess Bride, we still have Casablanca, Dirty Dancing, Gone with the Wind, and... Cinderella." Cameron hesitated at the last one. "Why did we rent this one again?"

"I think we were trying to get in touch with our 'inner child'... or something like that." Chloe joked. They both laughed and continued to wonder which movie to watch next. "Well, if we watch Gone with the Wind, I'll be here until 3 in the morning." Chloe looked at the clock. "I think we have time for one more. And I think we should stick with the more... grown up movies."

"We still have two choices." Cameron replied. Finally she put the two remaining DVDs behind her back and switched them around a bit. "Pick a hand."

Chloe thought for a bit. "Hmm... right."

Cameron revealed the chosen movie. "Casablanca it is." She popped it in and returned to the couch. "I always cry during this movie."

"Me too. But I think we have a right to. We're girls. It's our biological right." Chloe responded.

"House wouldn't put it that way."

"What?"

"He'd probably say I find it sad because it reflects a past relationship I had and that I need to get over it."

Who cares what Ho... ooooooh! Time out!" Chloe grabbed the remote and stopped the movie.

Cameron started to regret what she said. "Why'd you do that?"

"Because we need to talk about this. Cary Grant can wait. Do you have feelings for House?"

"I don't know, maybe. He think I only like him because I want to 'heal him'."

"What do you think?"

Cameron got up and started pacing. "I'm not sure, he's brilliant, and he doesn't care what anyone thinks, yet he's unhappy with his life. I mean, he's in constant pain, but he doesn't do anything about it but down a handful of Vicodin every 20 minutes. I want to help him, and I want to know him, and I want to understand him, I want him to feel loved. Isn't that enough?"

Chloe was beginning to take in what she had just learned. "I don't know. It could be. But I don't think House is the type to let himself be loved. He has a wall around him. Not even a wall. A moat with armed guards and landmines and snipers and-"

Cameron got the metaphor. "Yeah, I know."

Chloe bit her tongue. "Sorry. It's just... I think if you try to break through his barrier, you'll be an old woman before anything happens. He won't just give in, you know?"

Cameron nodded.

"Besides, if I was gonna go for anyone in that hospital, I'd pick Foreman." Chloe grinned.

Cameron sighed. "Foreman? Not Chase?"

"Of course I'd pick Chase. Obviously I already have. If Chase wasn't there, I would pick him."

"Why?"

"He's a good looking, successful neurologist. What's not to love. And from some of the papers I've found, he named you his medical proxy once."

"I guess."

"Trust me, between House and Foreman? Definitely Foreman."

"You think so?"

"100 yes."

Cameron started thinking...

While the girls were busy ogling over Cary Elwes, Chase was mindlessly flipping channels. An old episode of ER was on, and he was having fun pointing out the medical errors in the show.

Of course, that only distracted him for about an hour, and his mind began to wander. Back to... yesterday. And the phone call. And how he wanted to know what it was about. And how Chloe wasn't home and wouldn't know if he did a little snooping...

How could he think like that? How couldn't he? It was in his nature. It's not like he'd never snooped around someone else's stuff before. But he couldn't. He couldn't go back to who he was. That awful, conniving, malleable, creep that would just as soon sell out his best friend before letting himself go down in flames. He wasn't that person anymore and he shouldn't let those temptations come over him. God, he hoped Chloe would come home soon.

One large Hawaiian pizza, 2 pints of B&J ice cream and 3 classic movies later, Chloe returned home. "Did you miss me?" She asked, as she quietly tiptoed over to the couch to find Chase laying down, massaging his temples.

All of his inner conflicts were giving him a headache, and he was extremely relieved to have her back. "Of course I did."

"Are you feeling okay?" She felt his forehead.

"Yeah, just a little headache."

"I'll get you some aspirin." She got up and headed to the bathroom for the medicine.

"No, don't worry about it, I think it's going away. Just come back here and sit with me." He reached out his arms for her.

She did so. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, really." He sat up. "Why are you here?"

Chloe was startled by the question. "What do you mean? Like in this apartment or.."

"I mean, why did you come to Princeton, of all places?"

"I told you, I was in NY, and then I remembered that when you left you came here. So I came to find you." She wasn't exactly sure where this all was going.

"And that's it? You had no other plans other than just coming and finding me? It was just an impulse?"

"Robert, what are you getting at?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking, while you were gone, that's all."

"Do we need to talk about anything in particular?"

"I think we need to just go to bed. It's been a long day."

"Okay, but tomorrow morning-"

"Can wait until tomorrow," Chase concluded.


	27. Secrets, Secrets

"Pick's Disease. Pick's Disease is a progressively degenerative neurological disease similar to Alzheimer's Disease for which there is no known prevention, or cure. Pick's Disease affects the frontal and temporal lobes first, with earliest symptoms showing up as changes in personality and a decline in function at home as well as work. Pick's Disease is frequently first diagnosed as stress or depression and then as Alzheimer's disease." House had finished reading from the July 1998 Neurological Journal of Ontario in reference to their current patient.

Earlier that week, after several non-invasive tests, House and the ducklings' patient, Harriet Connolly, had consented to a brain biopsy, revealing abnormal cells in her frontal lobe. This led House to his current diagnosis.

"All we can do is make her comfortable." Recited Foreman, as the diagnosis was all to familiar to him.

Cameron jumped into action. "I'll make sure she gets to the neurology department alright, and I'll schedule an appointment with Dr. Wright for her remedial treatments."

"Good to know," breathed House, as he limped into his office. "Oh, and by the way, someone needs to let our patient know why she's so sex crazed. The good news is, she'll have one hell of a time before she dies."

With Cameron gone, Foreman and Chase gave each other a look that said "you do it." After several moments of 'nonchalantly' examining the intricate design within the carpeting, House announced. "And which one of you should explain the NEUROLOGICAL disorder to Miss Nympho?"

Finally Foreman relented. "Fine, I'll go." And he exited the room with a grim look on his face.

Chase figured he had a spare moment, and was about to ask Chloe to accompany him to lunch when House, through the glass doors said, "Guess who that frees up to do my clinic hours?"

Chase sighed, and left Chloe with only a parting glance.

An Hour later, while none of the ducklings had returned, Chloe got a lot of work done, despite the accompanying sounds of General Hospital in the background. "I don't know why you're even watching that. It's so obvious that Dr. Charles is sleeping with Nurse Amanda so she'll stuff the ballot box and he'll win Doctor of the Year. What he doesn't know is that she's cheating on him with Dr. Williams. What's more is that she's actually stuffing the ballot box for Dr. Smythe so she'll promote her to head nurse and she can publicly humiliate Nurse Patricia for revealing that she cheated on her biology final in college."

House scrunched his nose in mock confusion as he entered the conference room for a coffee refill. "Geez, you know that much about the show? You really need to get a life."

Chloe smirked. "I used to have a lot of free time."

It was House's turn to smirk. "And now you don't. I guess when you're hanging around Dr. Idiot, you've got to make sure he doesn't pull anything stupid."

"Hey! He's not an idiot," Chloe defended.

"Of course he isn't, he's just-" House was cut off.

Chase entered the room, a file in hand. "House, we've got a problem, that patient we sent to rheumatology a few weeks ago, she's been sent back to us."

"Why? We figured her out already. I need something new, something exciting," House replied.

"Well apparently, we missed something," Chase said, exasperated. "She's hearing voices."


	28. Secret's Out

Chapter 27- Secret's Out.

Chloe's jaw dropped. "Schizophrenic with fybromyalgia?"

"That's what it says here." Chase replied.

House jumped in, in doctor mode. "Chase, find Foreman and get an MRI. And tell Cameron to get another patient history."

Chase nodded and headed left towards the clinic. House went back into his office and pulled out his yo-yo. Chloe grabbed her cellphone and also exited, but in the opposite direction Chase did, with her cellphone to her ear. House peered out the window after her, wondering what she was up to.

It was 5:30pm. The case still wasn't solved and Chloe was mysteriously still gone. Chase and the ducklings couldn't be bothered though, House had them at the big glass table, discussing the patient. Ideas had been thrown out, and all rolled off of House like water off a duck.

"Go home." House sighed, after drilling his team for answers the 4th time that day.

Chloe re-entered, putting her cellphone in her pocket.

"What?" Cameron's head popped up from the table, she was tiredly looking through one of Nora's files.

"Go home." He repeated, his eyes on Chloe. "Kindergartners aren't any fun if they've been deprived of nap time. Just go, we'll finish this tomorrow." House grabbed his big red coffee cup and went back to his office.

While Cameron sat slightly stunned, Foreman and Chase started to get ready to leave. She quickly followed suit. Chloe was a bit bewildered. "What's going on?"

Chase, putting on his bag walked over to Chloe and kissed her on the cheek. "We're going home, just like House said. You hungry?"

Chloe grabbed her jacket and purse. "Uh, yeah. Where do you want to go?"

Foreman chimed in. "You guys like Thai food?"

"There's peanuts in my food." Cameron said, crunching on them with her face scrunched up strangely.

Chloe laughed. "Yeah, they use them in savory meals. Do you like it?"

Cameron swallowed. "I will after a few more bites." She prepared her fork once again.

"Good idea, Foreman, this is a really nice place." Chase observed.

Foreman lifted his chin from his plate full of noodles. "Yeah, I came here a few times with an old girlfriend."

"I'm guessing you don't see her anymore." Chloe pried.

"You would guess correctly." Foreman replied.

Chloe continued, "So, are you seeing anyone at all?"

Chase stared at Chloe. "What kind of a question is that?"

Chloe nudged Chase playfully. "The kind of question you ask friends if you'd like to help them."

"And who exactly would you hook up Foreman with, seeing how you've only been here a little over a week. If he really is single." Chase responded.

Foreman chuckled and sat back in his chair. "I am. And I'm pretty sure I wouldn't mind having a little help in that department."

Chloe smiled. "Really!?"

Chase rolled his eyes. "I think it's time for us to go, Chloe." He pulled out his wallet and laid a couple of twenties on the table. "If that doesn't take care of it, I'll pay you back tomorrow, Foreman."

"Why do I have to pay for it?" Foreman asked.

"Because apparently, you're getting relationship advice from my girlfriend." Chase joked.

Cameron, silently watching for a while, spoke up. "Chloe, you don't have to go, I'll give you a ride home, if you want."

Chloe smirked. "No, I think I'd better go with Robert." She wrapped her arm around his waist. "I think I may have upset him." She giggled.

Chase rolled his eyes once again, and waved as he led Chloe toward the exit.

"Brain tumor?" Cameron threw out.

"Unlikely, we would've caught it in the MRI." Ouch. Shot down by the neurologist.

"Wilson's Disease?" She tried again, she was right with it once.

"No Kaiser-Fleicher rings in her eyes." Foreman took it off the table.

The team had come in a bit early to try and get a head start on Nora's case.

"She's a vegetarian, maybe it's some sort of protein deficiency?" Chase was flipping through Nora's file.

Suddenly, House entered, ready to work, at 8:14 am, with a file in his hands. "You are all idiots."

"You tell us that every day, House. Why does it matter now?" Cameron retorted.

"Do you know what this case needs? A toxicologist." He threw the file on the table. "Ms. Keene, what do you think?"

Chloe looked up from her pile of files. "Um, I don't know. Do you want me to call one for you?"

"Why? There's one here now." House remarked.

Foreman picked up the new file. "House, we already have a case, this isn't Nora's information."

Chase tilted his head to read the name on the side. His eyes widened, and he snatched the file from Foreman's hands. "This is Chloe's file."

Chloe sprung up to see. "Excuse me?" The file was snatched again, this time from Chase by Chloe. "This isn't my medical file, it's my personal file! Why are you flaunting this around?"

"Because, little Chloe, as every employee of mine learns very quickly, everybody lies. Usually it's why people lie that interests me, but this time, the lie itself has just as much intrigue." House revealed.

Chloe closed the file and held it to her chest. She looked up at House defiantly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

House smirked. "I think you do. It just takes a few questions. You know, like 'what's a medical school graduate doing filing papers instead of... practicing medicine?'"

"I dropped out of medical school." Chloe defended.

House pulled a few papers out of his bag. Copies of Chloe's file. "But it says here that you went back, and did a PA program at Duke University. Very prestigious, if you ask me."

"I didn't." Chloe tried to take the papers from House, but he held them out of reach.

"Now, why would anyone want to hide the fact that she's a certified doctor?" House glanced at the papers once again. "Look, it's got your DEA number here and everything."

Chloe tried to retrieve her private information in vain, and finally after much struggling, gave up. "Fine, House. I'm a doctor. I wanted to work for you, but you weren't hiring. All I could find here was this stupid secretarial job. I took it in the hopes to privately ask for a interview. Not so you could take my personal file and parade it in front of everyone. You want your damn toxicologist? Fine!" She turned to the team. "Nora has severe lead poisoning. She lives in seclusion and drinks well water, it says so in the file. Her house is also near a factory dump site, the waste must have leaked into her groundwater source. Start her on Dimercaprol, and the voices should go away. It was the cause of her fibromyaglia, too." She turned back to house, both fuming and practically in tears. "Happy?" She stormed out of the conference room, leaving everyone in shock except the attending.

"Yes." He looked at his team. "You heard her. She is the expert you know."

Chase, mouth agape, took a moment to contemplate what had just happened and ignored House. He chased after Chloe.

"Is that it?" Chase found Chloe on the roof, looking over the campus. Chloe didn't reply."Are you sure you aren't lying about anything else?"

Chloe laughed ruefully. "Way to kick her while she's down, Chase."

"Chase. You've never called me that."

"I'm feeling a bit distant right now."

"You didn't answer my question. Is this the only lie?"

"Could you think of anything bigger that I would need to hide?"

"Maybe, why you decided to stay with me?"

"Last minute decision. Seemed like a good idea the time."

"That's it? Just spur of the moment?"

"Yeah. That's it."

"That's not what it sounded like when you were talking to Anna the other day."

"What do you mean?"

"I heard you, you said something about needing money fast. And guess who the richest person within 10 miles of here is."

"I don't want your money, Chase, I want to make my own. I wanted to convince House to give me a better paying job than the one I've got. You know, a medical job?"

"Oh."

"That's all you can say? 'Oh'? I can't believe you actually thought I would want to take your money!" Chloe accused.

"What else was I supposed to think? You wouldn't tell me anything about what you did after I left! Suddenly you're back in my life again, unexpectedly, no phone call, no letters, no nothing! Because you just wanted to 'drop in'?" Chase argued.

"What do you want to know? You left, I was devastated. The daycare lost its funding. I had no job. I had nothing. I took out a bunch of crazy bank loans and applied to Duke. I went to school while you were gone. That's it. But of course, if I told you that, it would've ruined my whole plan! To make something of myself on my own. To do something for myself for a change, instead of for someone else. To find out if I could actually not screw up for a change, okay? To see if I could actually go through with something before giving up on it!" Chloe started to cry again, and turned her back on Chase.

There was an awkward silence before Chase wised up and went to comfort her. "You were never a screw up," he whispered. Chloe couldn't speak. "Don't worry about anything, I'm sorry I thought badly of you, and I'm sorry House is a jerk, and I'm sorry that your plan didn't exactly work out the way you wanted it to."

"Thanks." Chloe sniffled. "What a day. I've only been awake for 3 hours." She laughed, so did Chase.

"Go talk to House. Make him give you a job. He likes assertive women like that. Just look at how he is with Cuddy." Chase joked, and the two laughed again. "I'm going to check on the patient. Why don't you go get cleaned up and see about that job you deserve?"

"I don't think it's as easy as it sounds."

"Worth a shot. After all this, don't you think?"

"Sure, why not?"

Two weeks has passed, after quite a few meetings with Cuddy, House, and even Wilson (in Cuddy's office, because House refused to meet in a conference room), Chloe's fate had been decided. She had been at home during that time, Cuddy thought it better for her to discontinue her job as House's secretary. A few times she had come in to speak with the superiors, and the ducklings had been brought in once.

This final time, it was just Chloe, House, Wilson and Cuddy.

"This certainly is unprecedented." Wilson observed.

"Of course it is. But still, I think it is to be taken very seriously, and shouldn't happen again. Technically it isn't fraud, because you did tell the truth, just not all of it. And it didn't really put anyone in danger."

"You've already lectured her, Cuddy. Just cut to the chase." House, interrupted. "You got the job."

Chloe squealed. "Really! I can work here?"

"Welcome to PPTH Dr. Keene. You'll be joining the team in the diagnostics department today." Wilson finished.

"Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Chloe got up from her seat and hugged all three of the doctors excitedly. "I have to go tell them!" She paused. "My co-workers!" She ran out of Cuddy's office towards the diagnostics department.

The first person she met was Cameron. When Foreman and Chase returned from the lab, the two girls were jumping around screaming and hugging like they were a couple of 14 year olds with tickets to a Jesse McCartney concert.

"I got it! I got it!" She ran up to Chase and kissed him.

"Wow, that's great!" Foreman patted her on the back.

"You are now looking at Dr. Keene, of the PPTH diagnostics department." She beamed.

"So. Now we have an immunologist, an intensivist, a neurologist, and a toxicologist." Cameron declared.

"And a genealogist. I have a double specialty," Chloe corrected.

House entered. "Enough of the slumber party squeals. Let's get back to work. Keene, you have clinic duty. The rest of you, find something for me to do." He limped to his office and pulled his gameboy out of his pocket.

"I do?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah, it's his." Foreman pointed out, as he swept past her, and into the hospital, followed by Cameron.

She still had her arms around Chase. "Hey, that means I get to call you Chase now."

Chase smiled. "I guess it does, if you want to."

"I will. It's so much sexier than Robert." Chloe revealed.

"I know, you told me once."

"I did?"

Chase headed towards the door, smirking.

Before she headed out after him, Chloe glanced at House in his comfortable chair. She knew that she finally had achieved what she had been working for, all her life.

Chase held the door open, ready to escort her to the clinic. "You got it?"

Chloe looked at him and smiled. "Yeah. I got it all."

THE END.


	29. AN

Just so you know, I put only about 10 of the thought I should have into the falling action. I just was really ready to get the story over with, and felt kind of bad just leaving it there. Maybe one day I'll get back to it and fix it. But right now, I'm gonna stick to school.


End file.
